Top US Defense Official Says Iran Could Produce Enough Material For One Nuclear Device In 'About 12 Says'

Technicians work at the Arak heavy water reactor's secondary circuit, as officials and media visit the site, near Arak, Iran, December 23, 2019. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP, File)  

Reuters: Iran can make fissile material for a bomb 'in about 12 days' - U.S. official 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran could make enough fissile for one nuclear bomb in "about 12 days," a top U.S. Defense Department official said on Tuesday, down from the estimated one year it would have taken while the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was in effect. 

Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl made the comment to a House of Representatives hearing when pressed by a Republican lawmaker why the Biden administration had sought to revive the deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

 "Because Iran's nuclear progress since we left the JCPOA has been remarkable. Back in 2018, when the previous administration decided to leave the JCPOA it would have taken Iran about 12 months to produce one bomb's worth of fissile material. Now it would take about 12 days," Kahl, the third ranking Defense Department official, told lawmakers. 

Read more ....  

Update #1: Iran can make enough material for nuclear device in 'about 12 days,' US official says -- ABC News  

Update #2: Top US Defense official says Iran could produce ‘one bomb’s worth of fissile material’ in ‘about 12 days’ -- CNN 

WNU Editor: On a side note. Israel has a different opinion from CIA Director Burns' assessment concerning Iran's nuclear weapons program .... Ex-IDF intel. chief contradicts CIA chief on potential Iranian nuclear threat (Jerusalem Post).