International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, 2 Jun 2010

In their last report before the United Nations Security Council votes on a fourth set of sanctions against Iran, a team of nuclear inspectors with the International Atomic Energy Agency warned on Monday that Iran has now stockpiled enough enriched uranium that, if processed further, could be used to produce two nuclear bombs.

The IAEA report appears likely to bolster the Obama administration’s case for tougher economic sanctions against Iran and further diminish Security Council interest in a deal, recently brokered by Turkey and Brazil, in which Iran would send abroad a portion of its stockpile of low-enriched uranium, which now stands at over 5,300 pounds.

The report also describes how Iran has expanded work at its sprawling Natanz nuclear site, denied inspectors access to a series of atomic facilities, and refused to answer inspectors' questions on a variety of activities, including the "possible existence" of "activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile." The inspectors added that Iran has installed a second group of centrifuges which could improve its ability to enrich uranium to 20 percent purity.

US officials have argued that the combination of tighter UN sanctions, along with even stiffer unilateral sanctions by America and its European allies, may change Iran’s calculus, but many inside and outside the Administration are highly skeptical.

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