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Introduction:
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It is always difficult to evaluate a nuclear weapons program without access to concrete intelligence information. Thisstudy is based on open sources and we do not claim to be one hundred percent accurate and complete. The aim of thestudy is to try and get some insight into the level the Iranian Nuclear Program has progressed, and if the intent of theleadership is to produce nuclear weapons then what would the possible timeline be.
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Based on these estimates the study then addresses the possibility of an Israeli strike against the Iranian nuclear facilities, with the objective of either destroying the program or delaying it for some years. The success of the StrikeMission will be measured by how much of the Enrichment program it has destroyed, or the number of years it hasdelayed Iranian acquisition of enough Uranium, or Plutonium produced from the Arakreactor, to build a nuclear bomb.
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It is not known whether Iran has some secret facilities where it is conducting uranium enrichment and a nuclear weapons program. So far no concrete intelligence information points to this being likely. However, this study refers back
to the vast literature on Iran‘s nuclear program, and on some interviews of the Iranian leadership, such as the VOA of August 29, 2008 ―Iran claims to have 4,000 working nuclear centrifuges‖ and the April 8, 2008, (Time on Line), ―Iran:now we have 6,000 nuclear centrifuges‖, and ―Iran‘s Nuclear Chief Explains Nuclear Fuel Cycle, Comments on USConcerns‖. (Source: Tehran Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran Network C2 in Persian
-state run television)
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This study does not claim that if Iran might have accumulated over 1000 kg of Low Enriched Uranium (LEU), which issufficient to produce Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU), that it has done so, and now possess nuclear weapons.
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The Israeli time frame as to when Iran will have a Nuclear Weapon is between 2009 and 2012, whereas the U.S. timeframe is after 2013. Israel states that Iran should not be allowed to obtain any nuclear capabilities that could eventuallyallow it to produce nuclear weapons. Israel views Iran as an Existential Threat and must be dealt with in the immediatefuture.
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New US policy, under ObamaAdministration, is to leave all options on the table, and presently favors diplomacyagainst any military strikes. Containment could be the future course of U.S. Policy if Diplomatic Engagement does notwork, and after all other options have been exhausted.
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