U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned senators Wednesday that Iran is rapidly approaching the ability to produce weapons-grade nuclear material, telling lawmakers the regime is now alarmingly close to a nuclear breakout.
Appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Wright testified that Tehran is only weeks away from being able to enrich enough uranium for a nuclear weapon, according to CNN.
Wright said Iran is nearing the point where it could refine one ton of its uranium reserves to weapons-grade purity. Although additional steps would still be needed to build a functioning warhead, he stressed that Iran has already made extraordinary progress in the enrichment process.
During questioning from Senator Richard Blumenthal, Wright outlined the current status of Iran’s uranium stockpile. He explained that weapons-grade uranium generally requires enrichment levels of roughly 90%, while Iran already possesses approximately 11 tons of uranium enriched at levels of 20% and 60%.
“Frighteningly close. They are weeks, a small number of weeks away to enrich that to weapons-grade uranium,” Wright told the committee, according to CNN. “There’s still a weaponization process that happens after that, but they’re quite close to constructing nuclear weapons.”
Wright described Iran’s large supply of uranium enriched to 20% as especially alarming because it means Iranian scientists have already overcome one of the major technical barriers involved in building a bomb.
The hearing also focused on broader U.S. policy goals as fighting in the region continues. Senator Blumenthal asked whether fully eliminating Iran’s uranium reserves would be necessary to neutralize the nuclear threat.
“I think that’s the wise strategy,” Wright responded. “Ultimately, the goal is to prevent future enrichment of uranium as well. Yes, to have a safe world, we need to end their nuclear program.”
President Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed that Iran will never be permitted to acquire nuclear weapons, and reiterated that position Tuesday before departing for China.
Speaking with reporters, Trump warned Tehran that it must accept American conditions for ending the conflict and resolving concerns surrounding its nuclear activities.
“They’ll either do the right thing, or we’ll finish the job,” Trump said, rejecting the idea that rising prices in the US pushed him to seek an end to the war.
“I don’t think about Americans’ financial situations. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all,” the President clarified.
“The most important thing by far is Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Every American understands it. If the stock market goes up or down a little bit, the American people understand it.”
Trump added that the United States would ultimately prevail regardless of how the standoff is resolved.
Trump stressed that the US will “win it one way or the other. We’ll win it peacefully or otherwise. No matter how you cut it, we win.”
Referring to Iran’s response to a U.S. proposal that he dismissed Sunday as unacceptable, Trump accused Tehran of backtracking on previous understandings.
Commenting on the Iranian response to the US proposal, which he rejected as unacceptable on Sunday, Trump said that Iran agreed that they will never have nuclear weapons “and then that’s not what they sent to me. We don’t play games.”
“We have Iran very much under control. We are either gonna make a deal or they will be decimated,” he stressed.
{Matzav.com}
