Iran 'months' from atomic bomb

2004-07-27 10:06

London - Iran is just "months away" from being able to enrich uranium for a nuclear bomb, Britain's The Times newspaper reported on Tuesday, quoting Western diplomatic sources.

"Iran appears to be further advanced in acquiring the relevant nuclear technology than we had initially thought," a British official told the newspaper.

Teheran had bought time through appearing to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency and with a diplomatic initiative led by Britain, France and Germany, the report said.

But officials now believed the situation was "grave", it added.

"Actually they have just continued with the research work and now they are only a few months away from completing the programme," a source told The Times.

Iran is a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty but is allowed to develop nuclear technology for civilian purposes.

US President George Bush has named Iran as part of the "axis of evil" and accused Tehran of wanting to develop nuclear weapons.

Officials told the Times the IAEA was monitoring Iran closely, and that the country could be referred to the United Nations Security Council in coming months.

Teheran had chosen to use centrifuge technology to enrich uranium for making a bomb, rather than extracting plutonium from used fuel from a reactor under construction at Bushehr with assistance from Russia.

"Even if they complete the centrifuge technology, it would still take time to spin the material through the system and to make a bomb," a source told the Times.

The Times reported recently that Israel would mount a military attack to destroy Iranian nuclear facilities if it thought Teheran was close to having a bomb.

Israel took action against Iraq in June 1981, destroying the French-built Osirak nuclear reactor in an air raid.

- SAPA