Blinken: The Islamic Republic can produce materials necessary for building a nuclear weapon within 'one or two weeks'

On Friday, July 29, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized Donald Trump's policy of withdrawing from the nuclear agreement 'JCPOA' at a security conference in Colorado, stating that the Islamic Republic is capable of producing the fissile materials necessary for constructing a nuclear weapon within 'one or two weeks'. He added that with the coming of Joe Biden's administration, the U.S. has attempted to address the issue through nuclear diplomacy and prevent Iran from emerging as a potential nuclear-armed state. Blinken elaborated, saying, 'If you could eliminate at least one problem, namely a potentially nuclear-armed Iran, it would inherently be a good thing.' He further noted that instead of being at least a year away from the capability to produce fissile materials for a nuclear weapon, Iran is now likely only one or two weeks away from that capability. Blinken emphasized that 'in recent weeks and months, we have seen real progress by the Islamic Republic' in its nuclear program. However, he also pointed out that the Islamic Republic has not yet produced a 'nuclear weapon'. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the White House National Security Advisor also stated, 'I have not seen a decision from Iran to move in the direction that indicates they are really deciding to build a nuclear bomb.' Jake Sullivan continued to tell reporters at the Aspen security conference in Colorado that if Iranian officials want to move in that direction, 'they will truly run into problems with the United States.' Donald Trump, the former U.S. President and Republican candidate for the current presidential election, has consistently defended his policies towards the Islamic Republic. These remarks followed the recent election of Masoud Pezeshkian, who stated that his goal is 'to bring Iran out of isolation' and revive the 2015 nuclear agreement between the Islamic Republic and global powers. The United States unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, which was aimed at regulating Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for lifting international sanctions. Ali Bagheri, the interim foreign minister of the Islamic Republic, told CNN earlier this week that his country still adheres to the so-called JCPOA. He stated, 'We are still a member of the JCPOA. The U.S. has not yet been able to return to the JCPOA, so our goal is to revive the 2015 agreement. We are not seeking a new agreement.' Bagheri emphasized, 'Neither I nor anyone else in Iran has talked about a new agreement and will not. We have a signed agreement from 2015.' Axios reported on Wednesday, July 27, that the United States sent a 'private' warning to the leaders of the Islamic Republic last month regarding Iran's nuclear activities. The website quoted three American officials who requested anonymity, stating, 'The United States expressed its serious concerns about the Islamic Republic's nuclear development activities and its efforts to produce a nuclear weapon and called for an immediate halt to these actions.' The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency recently announced that Iran's stockpile of 60% enriched uranium is increasing and has reached about 142 kilograms, which is more than 20 kilograms above the agency's previous estimate. Western officials say that this level of uranium enrichment has no justification other than military use and that the Islamic Republic must immediately stop this action. However, Iranian government leaders continue to claim that their nuclear activities have peaceful objectives.