2013 Briefing Book - Print Version - Aipac

IRAN
UNDERMINE AMERICA’S CREDIBILITY
For the past two decades, the United States has proclaimed that it is unacceptable for Iran to
acquire nuclear weapons and has sought to prevent that from occurring. If the United States fails
to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability, America’s credibility in the eyes of its
allies in the region—and around the world—would be undermined.
Iran Pressing Ahead With Its Nuclear Weapons Pursuit
These dangerous scenarios are moving closer to reality, as Iran continues to ignore the repeated
demands of the U.N. Security Council to suspend its nuclear activities. For more than 25 years,
Iran has pursued a path to a nuclear weapons capability, constructing a secret program in
violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Iran has focused its nuclear efforts on enriching uranium, a key step in producing fissile material
for the core of a nuclear weapon. Low levels of enriched uranium generate power, while highly
enriched uranium (HEU) is used to make bombs. As of November 2012, Iran had produced nearly
17,000 pounds of low-enriched uranium (LEU). If further enriched to a weapons-grade level, the
uranium would be enough to produce six to seven nuclear weapons.
Iran has also begun the process of converting its LEU into uranium enriched to the 20 percent
level. This level represents 85-90 percent of the effort needed to produce weapons-grade fuel. As
of November 2012, Iran had produced more than 500 pounds of this higher enriched uranium.
This amount is more than enough—if further enriched to weapons grade—to fuel a nuclear bomb.
To date, most of Iran’s enrichment activity has taken place at the Natanz facility. In September
2009, the United States disclosed that Iran was constructing a secret uranium enrichment facility
located deep in a mountain on an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) base near Qom.
The size of the facility is insufficient to produce needed fuel for a nuclear power reactor, but ideal
to produce weapons grade uranium.
In the fall of 2012, Iran completed the installation of nearly 2,800 centrifuges at the facility. Once
fully operational, the site could allow Iran to triple its output of higher enriched uranium.
Iran claims that it needs this uranium for a research reactor in Tehran that produces radioactive
isotopes for medical procedures. However, Iran rejected a proposal backed by the United States,
France and Russia that would send a portion of Iran’s LEU outside the country in return for the
medical-grade fuel. Under the proposal, Iran would have been able to meet its medical needs,
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