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Iran Boosts Uranium Stockpile

UN reports finds country may already have enough for bomb

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 20, 2008 2:42 AM CST

(Newser) – Iran is rapidly moving forward with its nuclear program and may already have enriched enough uranium to take the next step toward building a nuclear bomb, the Financial Times reports. The uranium will need more enrichment to reach weapons-grade levels, say UN experts, who believe the country will wait until it has amassed more nuclear material before attempting the "breakthrough."

A complete breakdown of communication has occurred between Iranian authorities and the International Atomic Energy Agency over the nation's nuclear program, according to a new report by the UN agency. Before the report was released, Iranian President Ahmedinejad warned he would not bow to pressure to cease his country's nuclear program. "If great powers seek to take over Iran’s rights, Iranian people will slap them so hard that they won’t find their way back home,” he said.

An Iranian military exhibition earlier this year displays a missile officials say is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and reaching Europe, Israel and US forces in the Middle East.
An Iranian military exhibition earlier this year displays a missile officials say is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and reaching Europe, Israel and US forces in the Middle East.   (AP photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivers a speech in a military parade ceremony in September marking the 28th anniversary of the onset of the Iran-Iraq war.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivers a speech in a military parade ceremony in September marking the 28th anniversary of the onset of the Iran-Iraq war.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iran's armed forces display the country's hardware during a military parade ceremony in Tehran in September.
Iran's armed forces display the country's hardware during a military parade ceremony in Tehran in September.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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They clearly have enough material for a bomb. They know how to do the enrichment. Whether they know how to design a bomb, well, that’s another matter. - Richard L. Garwin, a top nuclear physicist who helped invent the hydrogen bomb

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