CIAO DATE: 07/2013
May 2013
Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
The grounds for concluding that Iran is working to achieve a military nuclear capability are by now very strong . While there is no evidence as yet of work on producing an actual nuclear device , there is little doubt that Iran has been advancing a military nuclear program for years, and is on the way to being able to produce weapons in short order if it should so decide . The work Iran has already carried out in this regard is a violation of the commitment it made when it joined the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) to remain non - nuclear . Before moving to the evidence, it is worth recalling that a nuclear weapons capability has three components: the stockpile of fissile material (highly enriched uranium or plutonium) needed for an atomic explosion; the know - how and ability to assemble a nuclear warhead that can be p laced atop a surface - to - surface missile; and the delivery system itself, which today normally refers to long - range missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
Resource link: Facing Iran's Military Nuclear Ambitions: The International Challenge and Israel's Concerns [PDF]