Iran is 'several years away' from developing nuclear weapons, according to a report released on Tuesday by the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS). The London-based think tank had assessed Iran's nuclear, chemical, biological and long-range missile activities and also said that a showdown between Iran and the European Union and the United States may prove to be inevitable.
London, 6 Sept. (AKI) - Iran is 'several years away' from developing nuclear weapons, according to a report released on Tuesday by the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS). The London-based think tank had assessed Iran's nuclear, chemical, biological and long-range missile activities and also said that a showdown between Iran and the European Union and the United States may prove to be inevitable.
"On purely technical grounds, Iran appears to be at least several years away from producing enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon, and whether Iran has the expertise to fabricate a nuclear weapon from this material is unknown," said John Chipman, the director of the IISS at the launch of the report entitled "Iran's Strategic Weapons Programmes - a net assessment." The report charts the political history and progress of Iran's nuclear programmes since its origins in the late 1950s.
According to Chipman, Iran may seek to gradually acquire "its nuclear production capability over a decade or more ....... before its decides whether to exercise a weapons option."
Iran denies claims by Western nations, notably the US, that it is secretly trying to develop nuclear arms, and insists it needs nuclear power as an alternative energy source. Under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which Iran has signed, it has the right to process and enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.
The United States and the European Union have warned that in resuming its nuclear activities - a step which Iran took earlier this month - Iran will be referred to the UN security council which could lead to the imposition of UN sanctions on Iran.
By resuming its nuclear work, Tehran turned down an offer of economic incentives by the trio of EU negotiators, France, Britain and Germany.
The three EU countries responded by calling off talks with Iran that were scheduled for 31 August, and have threatened to bring the case before the UN Security Council to seek sanctions.
The release of the IISS report come ahead of the IAEA board meeting on 19 September to discuss whether to refer the case to the UN Security Council.
The report also details Iran's long-range missile program where it says there have been considerable technical advances in recent years.
It believed that Iran was focusing on fielding more of its Shahab-3 systems, a variant of a North Korean missile, which is claimed to be capable of hitting targets in Israel, much of Turkey and southern Russia.
