US: Iran has enough material for nuclear weapon

The top US military official said Iran has sufficient fissile material for a nuclear weapon, declaring it would be a “very, very bad outcome” should Tehran move forward with a bomb.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, offered the assessment when questioned in a broadcast interview about a recent report by the UN nuclear watchdog on the state of Iran’s uranium enrichment programme, which can create nuclear fuel and may be sufficiently advanced to produce the core of warheads.

Admiral Mullen was asked if Iran now had enough fissile material to make a bomb.

He responded: “We think they do, quite frankly. And Iran having a nuclear weapon I’ve believed for a long time is a very, very bad outcome for the region and for the world.”

State Department spokesman Robert A. Wood said it was not possible say how much fissile material Iran has accumulated.

“There are differing view not only outside government but also inside the government” on how far Iran has gone, Mr Wood said.

He added that while he was not suggesting Mullen was incorrect, “We just don’t know” exactly how much fissile material Iran now holds.

“We are concerned they are getting close” to having enough to build a nuclear weapon, he added.

Mr Wood spoke to reporters travelling with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Egypt.