Iran "not close" to nuclear weapon: Gates

Iran "not close" to nuclear weapon: Gates

www.reuters.com

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran is not close to having a nuclear weapon, which gives the United States and others time to try to persuade Tehran to abandon its suspected atomic arms program, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday.

"They're not close to a stockpile, they're not close to a weapon at this point, and so there is some time," Gates said on NBC television's "Meet The Press."

Gates' comments followed a televised interview with Adm. Mike Mullen, head of the U.S. military Joint Chiefs of Staff, who told CNN's "State of the Union" that he believed Iran has enough fissile material to make a nuclear bomb.

"We think they do, quite frankly," Mullen said.

(visit the link for the full news article)

They have the stuff, they don't have the stuff, is this looking like another Iraq to anyone? Before the Iraq war started Bush denied having made any plans, or that it was even a thought in his head. And then one day they "Weren't taking the option off the table", and then he really started to beat the drum for war and the rest is history. And now here we are again. Conflicting reports coming from within the government, what is this leading to? What is the agenda really? Do they even know what the hell they are doing?

www.reuters.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 2-3-2009 by projectvxn]

Why are there so many idiots in government?

No, really? Why can't they understand what "refining" means?


Iran has fissile material... but it's refined to somewhere around 30%... which is perfect for nuclear power plants... but it's USELESS for nuclear weapons.


Trying to detonate a nuclear bomb using material intended for a power plant is like trying to jump start your car with the battery from an MP3 player.
It's NOT gonna happen.


Unfortunately, all these retards in office can hear is the word nuclear, and they freak out.

Ever seen a bunch of mentally handicapped people in a room... and one of them makes a funny noise?
They all start making it.
... yeah, I used to donate my time when I was younger...

Watching the government react to the word "nuclear" is just like being back helping the mentally handicapped... they don't know what that noise or word was or what it meant... but they're sure as heck about to start repeating it loudly.

reply to post by johnsky


It's all reactionary BS. That's all we have in Congress, reactionaries. No body stops to think, no body asks questions, and the media have no balls.

NOW they tell us!!!!

Seriously, eight years of Bush, and truth comes out?

What a refreshing breath of fresh air, for a change!!!!

You know the routine, Gates will make a annoucement (standing in front of 2 American flags) that reliable sources have confirmed ....ya da ,ya da,off we go.....

[edit on 2-3-2009 by branty]

What needs to be understood is the type of ractor Iran have built

Busheir is a LPW or Light pressure water type , which requires 3% U-235 uranium to run it (natural uranium is around 0.7% U-235 with the rest made of of mainly U-238 uranium)

now , the next step for uranium fuel is to convert UF6 into UO2 (uranium hexaflouride into uranium dioxide) powder which is then fired in a furnace to create ceramic pellets about eh size of the end of your middle finger.

these are loaded in a tube made of either stainless steel or zirconium and the end sealed - and thats your fuel rod - about 1/2 inch across length varies on the design used.

now - if iran was building a PHWR - or pressurised heavy water reactor its a different ball game , these run on uranium dug out of the ground (or even thorium or spent uranium rods from LWR) but - they made tritium in quite impressive quantities - ask canada they sell most of the USA arsenals tritium for there weapons.

yes weapons - tritium is used to boost a weapon to many times its predicted yield.

these are run by canada and india (amoungst others) and you can literally shovel uranium ore into these types.


i personally believe its a case of watch and wait - when iran `rolls out` UO fuel rods in the next few months - all at 5% then the 1 ton of UF6 (and thats the iaea report is 1 ton - also the iaea report no increase in the number of centrigues since the last inspection)

reply to post by johnsky


from a `technical` point of view - you can make a bomb out of any uranium - its the amount that is require for criticality which is the rather significant factor - the higher the pureity the smaller the amount needed for criticality,

as an idea the critical mass for 85% high enriched uranium is about 50 KG for `low enriched` U235 @ 20% you need 400 KG , and for 15% enriched U235 you need 600KG - and the curve goes very very sharply up from there;

The critical mass is inversely proportional to the square of the density: if the density is 1% more and the mass 2% less, then the volume is 3% less and the diameter 1% less. The probability for a neutron per cm travelled to hit a nucleus is proportional to the density, so 1% more, which compensates that the distance travelled before leaving the system is 1% less.

so , in theory you can actually make a weapon from ore - but given that ore is 0.7% , well simple math says you need around 100 tons or more - in a sphere

with a bloody strong netron source.

so why use plutonium? well Pu-239 only requires 10KG for criticality - other elements might require smaller amounts but getting themwould be improbable in useable amounts.

have a look at Oklo in Gabon - a self starting nuclear reactor - approach 1 meter across inside a uranium vein inside a mountain dated to 2 billion years ago.

reply to post by johnsky

Iran has fissile material... but it's refined to somewhere around 30%... which is perfect for nuclear power plants... but it's USELESS for nuclear weapons.

You must still be reading newspapers from 2001. In 2004 the IAEA performed some surprise raids in Iran. The concealed Netanz underground centrifuge plant revealed samples of Uranium enriched to 70%.

At the heavy water reactor laboratory in Tehran University they found in 2004 that Plutonium had already been separated from spent fuel rods and contrary to the NPT Iran had not kept records of this fissile material.

Oh and for the Noddies out there who think... "around 30%... which is perfect for nuclear power plants"

Iran's Busheir nuclear power plant only requires enrichment to 1.5%

Bunch of self appointed noddy experts

reply to post by sy.gunson


Linky?

As far as I know from reading the IAEA's reports, Iran has not exceeded LEU levels (low enriched uranium less than 5%). They have plutonium at Tehran University that was given to them by the US.

[edit on 3/2/2009 by mythatsabigprobe]

reply to post by sy.gunson


irans plant is a russian design and requries 3% enrichment

1.5% will operate in a CANDU type as used by canada but wouldn`t work in the LPR in iran.

[edit on 2/3/09 by Harlequin]