Iran Expanding Nuclear Program

Oh yes, it is.

In a mild surprise to outside experts, the nuclear agency reported that Iran was now operating or about to switch on roughly 1,000 centrifuges, the high-speed devices that enrich uranium, at its nuclear facility at Natanz.

…Coming on the heels of the Bush administration’s accusations that Iran’s Quds Force is sending deadly bombs and other weapons into Iraq, the report heightens what has become a growing confrontation.

Since the last energy agency assessment of Iran’s progress, President Bush has ordered a second aircraft carrier group into waters in striking distance of Iran, an unsubtle reminder that, if diplomacy fails, Mr. Bush could order a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. But senior administration officials have insisted in recent days that the show of military force is intended only to remind Iran of Washington’s options, and they have dismissed the idea that Mr. Bush is considering an attack. (Drima: Ya right!)

…Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel said Thursday that even though the Iranians were not as far along as they would like to be, they were still far closer to learning how to make bomb-grade uranium than Israel was comfortable with. He dodged questions about at what point Israel might lean toward military action, a step American officials have said that they are trying to discourage.

 …The atomic agency in its report said Iran had already moved into the cavernous halls nearly 10 tons of unenriched uranium — enough, nuclear experts said, to make at least one atom bomb. In all, at its sprawling plant at Isfahan, Iran has produced some 200 tons of uranium now ready for enrichment at Natanz. If turned into weapons-grade uranium, that would be enough for more than a dozen nuclear weapons.

While, I am worried about the future of the region, I must say that Iranians have got some crazy guts. Moreover I must also admit that the level of scientific sophistication they’ve reached without much outside help is truly impressive. War or the fear of it has a strange way of motivating humans and propelling science forward in amazing ways. My prediction? They won’t stop enriching. The Iranians simply won’t. This will continue until:

a)      Some form of revolution happens and the government gets overthrown.

b)      They end up with the bomb (which might probably speed up this prediction and make it true). Not a pleasant scenario.

c)      The nuclear facilities get bombed (which will mean a truly lovely bigger war in the region and oil prices sky rocketing). Definitely not a pleasant scenario.

Meanwhile, the Mullahs are rubbing their hands and drooling. We’re heading down a very wonderful path. Indeed, we are!