WASHINGTON
\nUS intelligence assessments indicate that the time Iran would need to build a nuclear weapon has not changed since last summer, when analysts estimated that a US-Israeli attack had pushed back the timeline to up to a year, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
\nThe assessments of Tehran\u2019s nuclear program remain broadly unchanged even after two months of a war that US President Donald Trump launched in part to stop the Islamic Republic from developing a nuclear bomb. The latest US and Israeli attacks that began on February 28 have focused on conventional military targets, but Israel has hit a number of significant nuclear facilities.
\nThe unchanged timeline suggests that significantly impeding Tehran\u2019s nuclear program may require destroying or removing Iran\u2019s remaining stockpile of highly enriched uranium, or HEU.
\nThe war has stalled since the US and Iran agreed an April 7 truce to pursue peace. Tensions remain high as both sides appear deeply divided, and as Iran has choked traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, blocking some 20 percent of world oil supplies and igniting a global energy crisis.
\nSecretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has said publicly that the US aims to ensure Iran \u200cdoes not obtain \u200ca nuclear weapon via ongoing negotiations with Tehran. US intelligence agencies had concluded prior to June\u2019s 12-day war that Iran likely \u200ccould produce enough bomb-grade uranium for a weapon and build a bomb in around three to six months, said two of the sources, all of whom requested anonymity to discuss US intelligence.
\nFollowing the June strikes by the US that hit the Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan nuclear complexes, US intelligence estimates pushed that timeline back to about nine months to a year, said the two sources and a person familiar with the assessments.The attacks destroyed or badly damaged the three enrichment plants known to have been operating at the time.
\nBut the UN nuclear watchdog has been unable to verify the whereabouts of some 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent. It believes that about half was stored in an underground tunnel complex at the Isfahan Nuclear Research Center, but it has been unable to confirm that since inspections were suspended. The International Atomic Energy Agency assesses the total HEU stockpile would be enough for 10 bombs if further enriched.
\n\u201cWhile Operation Midnight Hammer obliterated Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities, Operation Epic Fury built on this success by decimating Iran\u2019s defense industrial base that they \u200conce leveraged as a protective shield around their pursuit of a nuclear weapon,\u201d said White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales, referring \u200cto the June operation and the latest war that began in February.
\n\u201cPresident Trump has long been clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon \u2013 and he does not bluff.\u201dThe \u200cOffice of the Director of National Intelligence did not respond to a request for comment. Stopping Tehran\u2019s nuclear program a key US goal
\nUS officials, including Trump, repeatedly \u200ccite the need to eliminate Iran\u2019s nuclear program as a key objective of the war. \u201cIran can never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. That is the goal of this operation,\u2069\u201d Vice President JD Vance wrote on X on March 2.
\nThe unchanging estimate of how long it would take Iran to build such a weapon reflects in part the focus of the latest US and Israeli military campaign, the sources said. While Israel has struck nuclear-related targets, including a uranium-processing facility in late March, US attacks have concentrated on conventional military capabilities, Iran\u2019s leadership and its military-industrial \u200cbase. \u2014 DNA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON US intelligence assessments indicate that the time Iran would need to build a nuclear weapon has not changed since last summer, when analysts estimated that a US-Israeli attack had pushed back the timeline to up to a year, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The assessments of Tehran\u2019s nuclear program remain broadly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":544910,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-544891","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n