Iran has enough fuel for a nuclear bomb, IAEA report says [View All]

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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran-nuclear20-2009feb20,0,3140113.story

Iran has enough fuel for a nuclear bomb, report says

The report by the IAEA, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, surprises diplomats and arms control experts. Officials note that major obstacles remain to building a weapon.

By Borzou Daragahi
February 20, 2009

Reporting from Tehran -- Iran has enough nuclear fuel to build a bomb if it decides to take the drastic steps of violating its international treaty obligations, kicking out inspectors and further refining its supply, U.N. officials and arms control experts said Thursday.

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One expert, David Albright of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, said he was "blindsided" by the report.

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Senior officials close to the Vienna-based IAEA told reporters and arms control experts in a conference call Thursday evening that Iranian officials said they had "miscalculated" their stockpile of low-enriched uranium, an error that was cleared up with agency officials in mid-November but never made public.

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But Iranian officials have barred inspections of facilities producing centrifuge parts, a move arms control inspectors say adds to worries that Iran may build an undeclared centrifuge facility separate from Natanz.

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Iran has also barred inspectors from its heavy-water reactor near Arak, which has concerned inspectors who hope to examine the site for possible telltale "clandestine" features that could be used in a weapons program, said a high-ranking U.N. official.

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