The Jerusalem Post published an article by Yaakov Lappin headlined 'Iran may reach key point for nuclear bomb by 2014'. "Iran could produce enough weapons-grade uranium for one or more nuclear bombs by mid-2014, and the US and its allies should intensify sanctions on Tehran before that point is reached, a report by a group of US nonproliferation experts said," the article begins.
President Barack Obama should also clearly state that the US will take military action to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, Lappin cites the report as saying.
“Based on the current trajectory of Iran’s nuclear program, we estimate that Iran could reach critical capability in mid-2014,” the report said.
"By mid-2014, Iran would have enough time to build a secret uranium enrichment site or significantly increase the number of centrifuges for its nuclear program, said David Albright, one of the project’s co-chairs and president of the Institute for Science and International Security," the article reads.
The report recommends that the US and its allies intensify sanction pressure on Iran prior to that point because once Tehran acquires enough weaponsgrade enriched uranium, it would be “far more difficult to stop the program militarily.”
It also recommends that the US announce its intention to use sanctions to impose a “de facto international embargo on all investments in, and trade with, Iran” if Tehran does not comply with UN Security Council resolutions, Lappin writes.
In addition, the report recommends sending a “crystal clear” message to Iran’s leaders that US military action would prevent them from succeeding in the pursuit of a nuclear weapon.
