CIA chief: Iran could enrich uranium to weapons-grade within weeks if it chooses

The head of the Central Intelligence Agency has warned that Iran could enrich uranium to weapons-grade within weeks, but said the United States does not believe Iranian leaders have yet decided to do so, Report informs via the Times of Israel.

The comment by William Burns, made during an interview with CBS News aired Saturday, came after inspectors from the UN atomic agency found uranium in Iran enriched to 84 percent purity, the closest its been to the 90% purity needed for nuclear weapons.

A news website linked to the highest reaches of Iran’s theocracy on Thursday acknowledged the accusation.

“To the best of our knowledge, we don’t believe that the supreme leader in Iran has yet made a decision to resume the weaponization program that we judge they suspended or stopped at the end of 2003,” Burns said.

“But the other two legs of the stool, meaning enrichment programs, have obviously advanced very far,” he added.

The interviewer then noted the International Atomic Energy Organization’s recent finding that Iran has enriched uranium to 84%.

“They’ve advanced very far to the point where it would only be a matter of weeks before they could enrich to 90%, if they chose to cross that line, and also in terms of their missile systems, their ability to deliver a nuclear weapon once they’ve developed it has also been advancing as well,” the CIA chief warned.

“We don’t see evidence that they’ve made a decision to resume that weaponization program,” he stressed again, “but the other dimensions of this challenge I think are growing at a worrisome pace too.”