Iranian diplomat claims Iran *could* build a warhead in 2 years

[muriel_volestrangler]

but doesn't want to. This comes via the BBC's "World at One", for which I only have an audio link (it's just after 22 minutes into the programme), and I can't find any web links to confirm this.

In Russia this morning an unnamed Iranian diplomat briefed the state news agency that his country could produce a nuclear warhead not, as the United States had suggested, in 8 years time, but within just 2. Having offered that alarming assessment, the diplomat then added that of course Iran wouldn't dream of doing any such thing, because it was committed to international rules on arms control.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio4_aod.shtml?radio4/wato">Audio link

It sounds more like a bit of boasting by the diplomat, but it may indicate that Iran doesn't feel like backing down in any way against the USA. The BBC described it as a "PR offensive".

[Kutjara]

1. I suppose, if they wanted to,

they could build a nonfissile 'dirty bomb' next week, by cladding conventional explosives in the uranium they've already got. But so could just about anyone with the will and the cash to buy the components.

As the diplomat says, however, they don't want to.

[MADem]

2. The Russians (who live right up the road, and are all over Iran like

a cheap suit) say it will be five to ten years. I tend to believe their assessment, and suggest that the diplomat is doing a bit of "bazaar boasting" to make his goods appear more valuable than they in fact are. It helps to tout your product when you want to extract the best bargain.

[bananas]

3. He might mean if they started a crash program

and had all their scientists and engineers stop working on the power plant and start working on a bomb.
Of course, if we go ahead and blow up the power plant, there would be a lot of angry scientists and engineers with lots of free time to work on a bomb.