Chairman of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen
WASHIN
GTON: The United States believes Iran has stockpiled enough nuclear fuel to make a bomb, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen said on Sunday.
"We think they do, quite frankly," Mullen said on CNN's "State of the Union" program when asked whether Iran has enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon.
GTON: The United States believes Iran has stockpiled enough nuclear fuel to make a bomb, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen said on Sunday."We think they do, quite frankly," Mullen said on CNN's "State of the Union" program when asked whether Iran has enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon.
"And Iran having nuclear weapons, I've believed for a long time, is a very very bad outcome for the region and for the world," Mullen said.
The United States suspects Iran of trying to use its nuclear program to build an atomic bomb, but Tehran insists it is purely for the peaceful generation of electricity. Enriched uranium can be used to make nuclear weapons.
Mullen's comments on Iran came days after a Washington think tank said Iran had enough uranium for a bomb.
The Institute for Science and International Security released a report in late February concluding that Iran has reached "nuclear weapons breakout capability."
The report was based on an analysis of data from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nucle
ar watchdog agency.
The IAEA later said Iran was cooperating well with U.N. nuclear inspectors to help ensure it does not again understate the amount of uranium it has enriched, suggesting the uranium accounting shortfall might not have been deliberate evasion.
U.S. President Barack Obama's administration, which favors diplomatic engagement with Tehran to defuse the dispute over its nuclear intentions, called Iran's nuclear program an "urgent problem" the international community must address.
The United States suspects Iran of trying to use its nuclear program to build an atomic bomb, but Tehran insists it is purely for the peaceful generation of electricity. Enriched uranium can be used to make nuclear weapons.
Mullen's comments on Iran came days after a Washington think tank said Iran had enough uranium for a bomb.
The Institute for Science and International Security released a report in late February concluding that Iran has reached "nuclear weapons breakout capability."
The report was based on an analysis of data from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nucle
ar watchdog agency.The IAEA later said Iran was cooperating well with U.N. nuclear inspectors to help ensure it does not again understate the amount of uranium it has enriched, suggesting the uranium accounting shortfall might not have been deliberate evasion.
U.S. President Barack Obama's administration, which favors diplomatic engagement with Tehran to defuse the dispute over its nuclear intentions, called Iran's nuclear program an "urgent problem" the international community must address.
Courtesy: CNN,The Star Online
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