Iran is seeking to quickly build a crude nuclear device, with the aim of preventing a possible Western attack, The New York Times reported on Monday, citing U.S. officials.
The assessment is based on intelligence collected during the final months of the Biden administration and passed on to President Donald Trump’s national security team during the transition, the officials said.
Iran has the knowledge to make an “older-style nuclear weapon, one that could be put together far faster than the more sophisticated designs Tehran has considered in the past,” the Times reported.
Iran likely obtained the weapon’s blueprints from Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan, according to the report.
Although such a weapon wouldn’t fit on a ballistic missile and would be less reliable than more modern ones, it could be built faster and would serve as a deterrent against attack.
The impetus for Iran’s decision was the October 2024 attack by Israel on its air defenses and other strategic sites, including nuclear development facilities, which left Tehran feeling vulnerable, according to the officials.
Iran continues to enrich uranium to 60% U-235, and currently has enough to make four or five bombs, according to the Times. Further enrichment to 90%, or military-grade, would only take a few days. However, from there to producing a missile-ready nuclear warhead would take an estimated 12 to 18 months.
In that time, the United States and Israel could attack, and have in fact warned that they will likely do so should Iran cross the 90% threshold.
