February 01, 2007	Thursday	Muharram 12, 1428

LONDON, Jan 31: Iran could be only two or three years away from being able to produce a nuclear weapon, the head of a leading international security think tank in London said on Wednesday. John Chipman of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said Iran had stockpiled 250 tonnes of uranium hexafluoride (UF6), which, when enriched, would be enough for 30 to 50 weapons.

While Iran is “probably” on track to hit a target of producing 3,000 centrifuges at its nuclear facility in Natanz by the end of March, installing them and making them function properly would be complicated, Chipman said.

“If and when Iran does have 3,000 centrifuges operating smoothly, the IISS estimates it would take an additional nine to 11 months to produce 25 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, enough for one implosion-type weapon.—AFP