Is Iran “very close” to build a nuclear bomb as Trump claims? | Nuclear weapons news

After returning early from a group of seven summit in Canada early on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump told reporters he believed that Iran was “very close” to building nuclear weapons.

His comments were in line with social media and increasingly threat from Trump against Iran in recent days during Israel’s escalating conflict with its opponent in the Middle East.

Since Friday, Israel has bombed the best nuclear facilities in Iran and killed at least 14 Iranian nuclear scientists. The Israeli armed forces said that the scientists “were major factors in the development of Iranian nuclear weapons” and “their elimination represents a major blow to the regime’s ability to obtain weapons of mass destruction (WMDS).”

Iran insists that its nuclear program is completely peaceful and for civil purposes. He refers to the decree of the Supreme Leader Ali Khounai against nuclear weapons to support his confirmation.

But Trump’s comments on Monday echoed the allegations made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on multiple occasions on multiple occasions during more than two decades – and repeated them during the current conflict – to justify military action against Iran.

“In recent months, Iran has taken steps that it had not taken before: steps to enrich the enriched uranium,” said Netanyahu on Friday after the first wave of Iranian nuclear missiles struck.

Is Iran already close to building a nuclear bomb as Trump and Netanyahu claimed? Are there similarities between accusations against Iran and the fraudulent allegations of WMDS that the United States and its allies used to attack Iraq in 2003?

We look at the facts and evaluation of the United States intelligence community and the United Nations Nuclear Agency, the IAEA Agency.

What does the United States say about the Iranian nuclear program?

on March 25Trump’s National Intelligence Director, Toulcy Gabbard, told the members of the American conference unambiguously that Iran is not moving towards building nuclear weapons.

“The intelligence community continues an assessment that Iran does not build a nuclear weapon, and the Supreme Leader of Khamnai has not declared the nuclear weapons program that it suspended in 2003,” she said, referring to a group of American spying agencies that cooperate to conduct such assessments.

But Gabbard also said that there was “erosion of decades that lasted in Iran to discuss nuclear weapons in public places, and it is likely to be exciting to call nuclear weapons within the decision -making device in Iran.”

She added that “the enriched uranium stock in Iran is at its highest level and is unprecedented for a country without nuclear weapons.”

On Monday, when the journalists quoted Gabbard’s testimony to Trump, he said: “I don’t care what she said. I think they were about to be” a nuclear weapon.

He added: “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. It is very simple.”

When Gabbard was asked, when asked about Trump’s comments, the reporters told that she and the American President Tawazia – but they did not explain how, given the different evaluation of the Tehran nuclear program.

What does the American army think?

on June 10Three days before Israel launched its attacks on Iran, Eric Corella, commander of the US Army Central Command, told the Senate that Tehran “continues to advance towards a nuclear weapon.”

On the surface, this evaluation appears to be inconsistent with Gabbard from March. But Corella did not say that the American military was currently considering a program to develop nuclear bombs – but it was advancing towards such a stage.

What the general did is to ask about the reason for Iran getting high levels of enriched uranium. He said: “In stocks of enriched uranium continues to accumulate in facilities throughout the country under the guise of a civil nuclear program,” he said. “Iran continues to gain knowledge and skills directly associated with the production of nuclear weapons.”

What is uranium enrichment, and what does Iran do?

Iran was enricating uranium by up to 60 percent – related to the International Atomic Energy Agency and critics of the Tehran nuclear program.

Enriching uranium is the process of increasing the concentration of uranium -235 counterpart in natural uranium, which usually contains only about 0.7 percent U -235. To build a nuclear weapon, uranium must be enriched by about 90 percent of the U-235. Once these levels are enriched, uranium is considered “at the level of weapons.”

Once the uranium enriches to 60 percent, it reduces the time needed to reach the degree of weapons, which is why high enrichment levels attract more scrutiny from the International Energy Agency such as the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Iran denies the follow -up of nuclear weapons and affirms its legitimate right, such as the signature of the Nuclear Non -Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including uranium enrichment.

Do the International Atomic Energy Agency believe that Iran is building nuclear weapons?

Addressing the Board of Governors On Widg Ali June 9The Director General of the Agency of the Agency, Rafael Grossi, said that Iran has accumulated 400 kg (880 pounds) of enriched uranium to 60 percent.

“While protected enrichment activities are not prohibited in itself, the fact that Iran is the only non -nuclear weapon country in the world that produce and accumulate enriched uranium by 60 percent is still a serious issue.” a report To the Board of Governors.

ThursdayOne day before Israel’s attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, the International Atomic Energy Agency Council approved a decision to monitor Tehran and accused it of violating its obligations to guarantees towards the United Nations.

But in an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Grouosi was stressing that Iran’s alleged violations of its assurances did not lead his agency to conclude that Tehran was building bombs.

“We had no systematic effort to move to a nuclear weapon,” he said.

“We had no systematic effort to move to a nuclear weapon.” AAHEN The general manager confirms the results of his agency on the Iranian nuclear program. pic.twitter.com/tmhx7rtfjj

Christian Amanur (@amanpour) June 17, 2025

Meanwhile, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Atomic Energy Organization rejected the decision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and insisted that Tehran remained committed to its guarantees.

Can Iran build nuclear weapons soon – and how soon?

In his testimony on June 10, Corella claimed that if Iran decides “the enemy to a nuclear weapon”, it had enough stocks and central expulsion to produce up to 25 kg (55 pounds) of uranium at the level of weapons in a “approximately week” and a space enough to accumulate up to 10 weapons in three weeks.

But Grossi, in a CNN interview on Tuesday, suggested a completely different schedule.

“Certainly, it wasn’t tomorrow, maybe not a matter of years,” he said. “I don’t think it was a matter of years.”

Corella, the military commander, nor Grusi, head of the United Nations nuclear organizer, not pointed to the period that it may take from the country of building atomic weapons as soon as they have uranium stocks at the level of weapons, even if this is Iran’s intention.

Kelissi Davbort, director of the non -proliferating policy of the US -based weapon -based weapons association, suggested that Israel also know that Iran has no imminent ability to build a bomb.

“If there is already an imminent danger to spread, if Israel really believed that Iran was heading towards a nuclear weapon, then I believe that there would be a more sustainable campaign trying to disrupt activities in Ford and other activities on Natanz,”

Are there echoes for 2003 and WMDS in the current debate?

For several observers from the Middle East, there.

In the period before the 2003 American invasion, the United States and the United Kingdom confirmed that Iraq owns WMDS, including chemical and biological weapons, and that it was following the nuclear weapons program.

These allegations were essential to justify military action in light of the argument that Iraq is an imminent threat to regional and global security. US intelligence reviews at the time, including the 2002 national intelligence estimate, supported this view despite varying degrees of confidence.

After the invasion, extensive search operations did not find any WMD active programs in Iraq.

Subsequent investigations, including investigations conducted by the American Senate Intelligence Committee and the investigation of Chilcot in the United Kingdom, concluded that intelligence was deeply defective and politicized by leaders to exaggerate WMD capabilities in Iraq to build a case of invasion.