Iran closer to ‘breakout capacity’

Iran “is now either very near or in possession” of enough low-enriched

uranium to produce one nuclear weapon, a senior U.S. diplomat said

Wednesday as he offered some of the toughest remarks by an Obama

administration official on Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Glyn Davies, Washington’s chief envoy to the International Atomic

Energy Agency, made the assertion in his inaugural speech to the

Vienna-based U.N. nuclear watchdog on the same day that Iran offered a

counterproposal to end the impasse over its nuclear program.

The Iranian proposal, which remains confidential, was delivered to

diplomats in Tehran, but initial reactions were of disappointment.

“We made a substantive offer, but we didn’t get something back that was

responsive,” said one Western diplomat, speaking on the condition of

anonymity because an official comment was still being prepared. “What

we got was a request for a holistic conversation.”

In his speech Davies said, “We have serious concerns that Iran is

deliberately attempting, at a minimum, to preserve a nuclear weapons

option.”

Iran would need to enrich the stockpile of uranium to weapons-grade

level to produce a bomb, but Davies said the country’s ongoing

enrichment activity – in defiance of three U.N. Security Council

resolutions – “moves Iran closer to a dangerous and destabilizing

possible breakout capacity.”

Davies reiterated the Obama administration’s interest in a diplomatic

resolution to the impasse and in direct negotiations with Iran without

preconditions.

The five permanent members of the Security Council – United States,

Britain, France, Russia and China – and Germany this year reiterated an

offer to provide economic and security benefits to Iran in exchange for

international oversight and suspension of its enrichment activity. The

group, known by the moniker P5-plus-one, has unsuccessfully sought to

negotiate a solution with Iran since 2006.

The United States and other major powers said in July that they would

“take stock” of Iran’s response to the latest offer during the annual

debate of the U.N. General Assembly this month. Washington has warned

that it will push for “crippling sanctions” against Iran if little

progress is made by year’s end.