Iran a Few Weeks away from Having the Bomb

[Chris]

Iran a Few Weeks away from Having the Bomb

Iran a Few Weeks away from Having the Bomb
By Todd Strandberg

For the past several years, the International Community has been very concerned about Iran's nuclear program. With all the unrest in the Middle East, everyone seems to have lost track of this danger. A new report by the RAND Corporation has sounded the alarm, saying the Iranian regime is closer than ever to creating a nuclear bomb.

Researcher Gregory S. Jones has looked at the uranium enrichment data, and he estimates that Tehran could have enough for its first bomb within seven weeks. According to Jones, Iran has produced a large quantity of uranium enriched at about 20 percent of the isotopes used in a bomb. If its centrifuges continue to work at the current capacity, it will take just under two months for the Iranian regime to produce the 20 kg of uranium enriched to 90 percent required for the production of a nuclear weapon.

Another troubling observation by Jones is our inability to stop Iran's progress. He said airstrikes and sabotage can no longer stop their nuclear program. The U.S. would have to send in ground troops to prevent the Iranians from building a bomb. With our forces already busy with four other conflicts, this option is highly unlikely.

Any mention of an Iranian nuclear bomb has long been a taboo subject in Iran. The finish line must now be in their sight because Tehran is starting to speak openly about the day it will become a nuclear power. The following quote appeared on the Gerdab website, run by Iran's Revolutionary Guards:

Today is a normal day like any other. Like 90% of the year, there is news about Iran, and these are the headlines which can be seen on foreign news sites:

Reuters: Iran detonated its nuclear bomb
CNN: Iran detonated nuclear bomb
Al-Jazeera: The second Islamic nuclear bomb was tested
Al-Arabia: The Shia nuclear bomb was tested
Yahoo! News: Nuclear explosion in Iran
Jerusalem Post: Mullahs obtained nuclear weapon
Washington Post: Nuclear explosion in Iran, Shock and despair in Tel Aviv

I would really love to know what the Israeli government is thinking right now. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already said that Iran should never be permitted to develop nuclear weapons. In his May 24, 2011, speech before the United States Congress, he gave this warning:

A nuclear-armed Iran would ignite a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. It would give terrorists a nuclear umbrella. It would make the nightmare of nuclear terrorism a clear and present danger throughout the world. I want you to understand what this means. They could put the bomb anywhere. They could put it on a missile. It could be on a container ship in a port, or in a suitcase on a subway. P> One only needs to look at North Korea to see how nuclear technology can embolden a rogue state. With no provocation, the North Koreans recently torpedoed a submarine and shelled an island, both belonging to North Korea's southern neighbor. The U.S. and South Korea did nothing because they knew the North had about a dozen nuclear bombs, and they feared what would happen if they fired back. The problem with placating an aggressor is that it creates a series of escalations that eventually ends with open warfare.

What makes Iran so dangerous is that it has frequently called for the destruction of Israel. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad must hold the record for the number of times the head of state has made threats against another nation.

He is in a special class of crazy because he is so dedicated to the annihilation of Israel that he’s willing to suffer the total destruction of Iran to achieve this goal. When Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev went to China to meet with Mao Zedong, he had planned to work out a deal that would provide China with nuclear technology. Mao told Khrushchev that they should use their nuclear weapons to advance communism even if it meant that millions of their citizens would die in the process. Khrushchev was so horrified by Mao's recklessness, he left the country on the third day of a planned seven-day visit. Here we are, 50 years later, and the leaders in Moscow have zero concern about assistance they are providing to a nation that would gladly use the bomb to vaporize Israel.

My hope is that Jones is wrong in his assessment and that Israel or the U.S. still has time to act. Since the existence of the Jewish state is at stake here, I just can't imagine that Netanyahu doesn't have a plan of action. I still expect to wake up some morning to news of a surprise bombing campaign by the Israeli Air Force.

An Israeli attack or a nuclear test by Iran would totally transform the last-days landscape. The consequences will be so calamitous the global community will deeply regret having failed to taken preventive action against Iran.

"Just so, when you see the events I've described beginning to happen, you can know his return is very near, right at the door" (NLT Mat. 24:33).

[Caelestis]

Great article written with sincere urgency.

[YeuEmMaiMai]

I in no way doubt this article but I do have one question

How do we go from Stuxnet crippling their program for x amt of years to they can have the bomb in like 5 minutes?

[Sean Osborne]

These reports are somewhat disinformative; they are intended to shape your thinking on this issue so that your thoughts will conform to that which the those in power can manipulate at the appropriate time.

You can decide for yourselves, but as for me I know and cannot be dissuaded from the following.

These reports are with respect to Iran gaining indigenous and sustainable offensive nuclear weapons capability. This means they can build their own nuclear weapons at will with locally produced materials and direct them onto distant enemy targets.

The nuclear weapons fact of the matter is that Iran has had an offensive nuclear weapons capability derived from foreign sources for several years now. Those sources are Russia and nations of the former Soviet Union (i.e the Ukraine).

Neither the Bush or Obama Administration's nor any of the governments of Israel put a stop to this capability while they had the opportunity to do so. Therefore, this must be within the will of God and it is completely under His control for His purposes.

[DanLW]

An observation... ever since 9/11 and the "Axis of Evil" speech, we've been hearing that Iran is just a couple years away from having the bomb. Several years ago it turned into a couple months. Several years later, it's a couple weeks? How many years will they be within a few weeks? It's like Iran getting the bomb is like the rapture - every time a set date passes, it seems the ultimate event has slipped back a little further.

Of course they are definitely working toward the bomb. It's just frustrating that all these estimates seem to be written on rubber bands. Or have clandestine Israeli operations been to thank for turning a couple years in 2001 into a decade?

It seems a lot of deadlines are coming up for Israel. A palestinian declaration in September, Iran working on the bomb and getting closer, the w whole 12th imam thing... something's got to give.

[BibleScribe]

Hi All,

New to this forum, -- first post!


One of the puzzling aspects of Daniel 11, is verse 40 where the "king of the south" attacks "him". And clearly where we should understand that the "king of the south" is the United States (being "south" with respect to Russia, the "king of the north"), the question remains exactly as to who "him" is.

Although this is conjecture, it would seem that because Persia (modern Iran) and Russia have a mutual defense treaty, that if Iran were attacked by this "king of the south" (or ally to that nation), then BOTH Russia and Iran would counter with force, culminating at the battle of Megiddo.


As to any timing, one must consider whether the weapon planned is a "gun-assembled" or "implosion" device. Clearly a gun-assembled can be built within a few months. However, an implosion device is much more difficult, and may take years.

BibleScribe

[Robert]

For those who aren't familiar with the terminology:

"Gun-type": a device that fires one half of the nuclear material into the other half in order to cause critical mass.

"Implosion-type": a device that consists of a hollow sphere of uranium/plutonium surrounded by a larger hollow sphere of explosives (typically C-4). All the explosives must go off simultaneously in order to implode the sphere of nuclear material in upon itself and achieve critical mass.

"Critical mass": a state in which nuclear material is so compressed that it reaches a level of mass necessary to start nuclear reactions.

[Sean Osborne]

Hi All,
New to this forum, -- first post!

Welcome!!!

One of the puzzling aspects of Daniel 11, is verse 40 where the "king of the south" attacks "him". And clearly where we should understand that the "king of the south" is the United States (being "south" with respect to Russia, the "king of the north"), the question remains exactly as to who "him" is.

I used to have the same issue many, many years ago, and then insight and a solution to these issues came after much study and prayer. He's what I learned in coming to a sound exegesis of these verses.

Daniel 11 is two-fold prophetic.

It foretells of both the precursor Antichrist (Antiochus IV Epiphanes) and the real future Antichrist, and of the wars between Antiochus Greek-Macedonian Seleucid Empire (king of the North) and Ptolemy's Greek-Macedonian Egyptian Empire (King of the South), which lasted for hundreds of years, after the break-up of Alexander the Great's Greek-Macedonian Empire. (Daniel 11:1-4 and then 5-35)

In Daniel 11:36-39 we suddenly see the rise of the future Antichrist. That's how his appearance will be in the future, very sudden and very swift. These verses are a very brief synopsis of his exploits over the whole of Daniel's 70th Week.

Then in verses 40-45 the "him" and "he" references are specifically to the future Antichrist's war exploits in fairly good detail.

Antichrist's political capital will be in Iraq, probably in the vicinity of Baghdad (as was Antichus IV Epiphanes captial city), and his religious capital will be the rebuilt 3rd Temple in Jerusalem.

Antichrist will subdue the countries allied with king of the South (North Africa/Africa) and those countries allied with the king of the North. Antichrist will decisively defeat them with overwhelming military power. Then he recieves intelligence on the movement of the kings of the North and the East - which is the massive military movement just prior to the Battle of Har Megiddo (Armageddon). Daniel 11:40-45.

As to any timing, one must consider whether the weapon planned is a "gun-assembled" or "implosion" device. Clearly a gun-assembled can be built within a few months. However, an implosion device is much more difficult, and may take years.

Iran's nuclear weapon designed for missile delivery is a down-sized implosion-type device not that different from the basic design of the US "Gadget" device exploded in the Trinity test of 16 July 1945 and in the Fat Man device that destroyed Nagasaki. It will have a plutonium core.

This type of warhead was given to Iran some time ago, it is a Russian design of approximately 200kt yield. It could be fitted on either an Iranian-made IRBM or a cruise missile reverese engineered from the Russian-made KH-55 Granat Iran received from the Ukraine about 10 years ago.

[BibleScribe]

Hi Robert,

Actually, the "gun-assembled" only uses uranium, and the "implosion" only uses plutonium, thus where in 1945 there was insufficient uranium for multiple "Little Boy" weapons, the scientists and engineers had to develop the plutonium based "Fat Man". (Please note that this is evidenced in Psalms 45 which dictates that we "teach" ourselves plural technologies and equally employ those plural "dread deeds" in Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively. *)



And a note to Sean,

Thanks for the welcome!

To followup on your first premise, an ancient fulfillment (either partial or total) has already been discounted by those smarter than us. And it's unfortunate that those experts did not live in the "time of the end" (as understood to be approximate to 1948) and thus were unable to correctly arrive at the true fulfillment. However if one were to evaluate the provided sequences and evidences, one can fairly reasonably arrive to the 1900s for this chapter. -- And as such, the one you cite is not found in 11:40-44, but in fact strictly in verse 45.


On your second comment, as cited to Robert above, you are correct that the implosion devices uses plutonium in the "primary". It's also my recollection that in approximately 1994 it was reported the Russians sold three weapons to the Iranians for $500M, and did not specify the configuration, although we can presume they were the implosion configuration, albeit non-functional units.


BibleScribe


* Ref. the premise proposed in the book "Hidden Prophecies in the Psalms"