Israeli Official: Iran Could Assemble Nuclear Weapon in Months
Iran could successfully assemble a nuclear weapon in “a matter of months, not years,” according to Israel’s Deputy Minister of Defense, Danny Danon.
If Iranian leaders give the go ahead, the regime’s nuclear team would be able to assemble a nuclear weapons “very fast,” Danon told theWashington Free Beacon on Wednesday, a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood before the United Nations and warned of Iran’s genocidal intentions.
Danon reinforced that Israel has “the capability” to stop Iran’s nuclear pursuit should it come to that.
“Absolutely,” Danon said when asked if Israel is prepared to use force against Iran. “We have the capability to do whatever is necessary in the long range and short range.”
Tehran’s modest outreach to President Barack Obama has been accompanied by a quiet ramp up in its nuclear pursuit, Danon said.
Israel on Iran: So wrong for so long
Officials at the U.S. Department of State, we learned from the secret cables released by WikiLeaks last week, have serious questions about the accuracy — and sincerity — of Israeli predictions about when Iran will obtain a nuclear weapon. As one State official wrote in response to an Israeli general’s November 2009 claim that Iran would have a bomb in one year: “It is unclear if the Israelis firmly believe this or are using worst-case estimates to raise greater urgency from the United States.”
So we thought this was as good a time as any to look at the remarkable history of incorrect Israeli predictions about Iran — especially given that the WikiLeaks trove is being used to arguethat an attack on Iran is becoming more likely.
According to various Israeli government predictions over the years, Iran was going to have a bomb by the mid-90s — or 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, and finally 2010. More recent Israeli predictions have put that date at 2011 or 2014.
None of this is to say that Iran will not at some point get a nuclear weapon — though the Iranian government has maintained that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. That said, Iran has not fully cooperated with international inspectors. But even assuming that Iran is seeking a nuclear weapon, estimates still vary widely on when it will reach that goal.
