Iran stockpiles enough uranium to make nation's first nuclear bomb

IRAN now has enough nuclear material to make its first atomic bomb, it was claimed last night.

The Islamic republic, whose president has threatened to "wipe Israel off the face of the Earth", has nearly doubled stockpiles of enriched uranium in the last six months, the United Nations said yesterday.

Experts believe it would take no more than six months for Iran to turn its stocks into enough weapons-grade material for a bomb – if it decides to defy warnings from US President Barack Obama not to do so.

Officials from the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) yesterday reported huge rises in the amount of low-enriched uranium or LEU in Iran and the number of centrifuges needed to make it.

David Albright, a former weapons inspector who leads the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, said Iran already had enough LEU to enrich for one bomb and could have enough for a second by the end of this year.

He added: "Whether Iran intends to pursue this approach is unknown." The country has denied it has any interest in having a nuclear bomb.

America, Britain and their allies are eager to prevent Iran developing weapons that could be used to threaten Israel and other nations. They are already facing a stand-off with Communist North Korea, which tested a second nuclear device late last month.

Iran and North Korea, are feared to have developed informal military links, despite their huge ideological differences. Their two football teams played out a scoreless draw in the North Korean capital Pyongyang yesterday.

The latest report from the IAEA revealed Iran's stockpile of low-enriched uranium, which is the fuel used in nuclear power stations, had leapt to 1,300 kilos in the last six months, up 500 kilos.

The agency also discovered the Islamic nation had 7,000 centrifuges that could be used to make LEU, although only 5,000 were in operation. Inspectors have been denied access to one facility amid confusion over whether Iran has been trying to enrich its LEU to make weapons.

One UN source, who declined to be named, said: "There is now a forest of 7,000 machines – that's quite a lot. It's a very impressive place, and they will be installing more which could mean 9,000 soon. That makes it increasingly difficult to do the surveillance."

Iran has said its centrifuges are only needed to produce fuel for nuclear power stations – Russian contractors are currently completing a electricity plant in the country's south. Western experts are sceptical that Iran, one of the biggest oil producers, needs an alternative source of energy.

Albright, however, stressed it could take Iran "one or two years" to overcome technical hurdles in producing an effective bomb. Even if it starts to enrich its uranium to weapons-grade, it would still have to perfect the technology for miniaturising the substance, making it small enough to fit into a modern warhead.

He stressed there was no evidence that Iran was trying to weaponise its LEU at its main processing plant in Nantanz. He added any effort to move LEU from Nantanz to a covert facility would be noticed by inspectors within months.

Iran is this week expected to announce it has developed new ground-to-air missiles amid speculation Israel could carry out a pre-emptive strike on its nuclear facilities.

Defence minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said: "The range of this defence system is more than 40km and it is able to pursue and hit the enemy's airplanes and helicopters on a smart basis and at supersonic speed."

Israel has sent out mixed messages on whether it would attack Iran. Its defence minister said all options should be open. Israel has carried out similar attacks on both Syria – where IAEA inspectors found evidence of uranium enrichment in a report also published yesterday – and on Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

Israel, widely believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear power, has repeatedly described Iran's nuclear programme as a threat.

Iranian leaders often dismiss talk of a possible strike by Israel, saying it is not in a position to threaten Iran, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter. They say Iran would respond to any attack by targeting US interests and Israel. The Islamic state often makes announcements of advances in its defence capabilities.

Military experts say Iran rarely reveals enough detail about its new military equipment to determine its efficacy but say the Islamic Republic, despite having much less firepower than US forces, could still cause havoc in the Gulf if it was pushed.

Last month, it said it had tested a missile that defence analysts say could hit Israel and US bases in the Gulf.

Experts said the announcement on air defence systems comes after Russia announced it would not go ahead with a lucrative contract to supply Iran with one of the most formidable anti-aircraft missiles in the world, the S-300.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is currently facing an election challenge from more moderate politicians. He does so after Obama made a passionate speech in Egypt, calling for the West and the Islamic world to set aside their differences.