Plutonium versus uranium: A very keen observation that many have failed to distinguish. Many forget that these are two variants that can help Iran achieve the same goal: Nuclear weapons. The Iranians know how to exploit the naïveté and continue to laugh off sanctions and diplomacy. As the article points out, the world might shortly find itself more concerned about how to contain the King of the South in the medium-term rather than halting it. Either way, whether it’s now, soon or later… war is eventually on the horizon.
Iran has two options: uranium or plutonium bombs.
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The talks were fruitless. The Iranians are too far along to stop now. Look at the Iranian pursuit of nuclear weapons in the past. No amount of sanctions can stop them. When Iran has stopped its work in the past it has only been temporary, or a flat-out lie. Europe was pushing Iran to stop centrifuge-based uranium enrichment back in 2003. The Iranians seemed compliant, yet they continued developing the technology, if not the enrichment. We are 10 years on and Iran has the technology. If it stops uranium enrichment, it will have another option, as it did back in 2003.
The heavy-water plant can be used to create plutonium. If Iran stops producing uranium, it can turn its attention to plutonium.
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Iran may choose to deny it is working toward obtaining nuclear weapons, but its actions speak louder than words. There are at least 50 batteries of anti-aircraft guns protecting the plant and three surface-to-air missile sites surrounding the complex. It has denied access to inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency since August 2011. The international community only knows what it can see from satellite imagery. Why would Iran choose to hide something if it were there for peaceful purposes? Why guard an innocent facility? The honest man has nothing to fear.
The P5+1 nations may be trying to slow Iran’s enrichment process, but Iran has multiple pathways to choose from. Iran may stop uranium enrichment, receive the ease on sanctions that is promised to it, and then focus on its plutonium production. It is set to get the bomb one way or another. The problem won’t be prevention, it will be containment. Read The King of the South to see what Iran will have in store for the Middle East and the broader international community once it gets its hands on a nuclear bomb, be it uranium or plutonium.
Full article: Iran’s Dual Path to Nuclear Arms (The Trumpet)
Global Geopolitics 