Six years have passed since the administration of former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal. Tehran is rapidly accumulating enriched uranium, the indicators of which are close to the weapons level. Experts fear that the creation of a nuclear bomb may be a matter of the near future.
Can Iran build nuclear weapons?
The Washington Post writes that Iran's nuclear program, which has attracted world attention for 15 years, is mostly hidden in an underground facility in a mountain near the Great Salt Desert.
The facility, known as Fordow, is the inner sanctum of Iran's heavily guarded nuclear complex and a frequent destination for international inspectors whose visits are meant to prevent any secret Iranian attempts to develop atomic weapons.
Journalists specified that the last visit of inspectors in February showed significant changes at the plant. Although production of enriched uranium was halted under the 2015 nuclear deal, new equipment has been installed there to accelerate the production of uranium, including more dangerous forms, bringing Iran closer to the ability to produce atomic weapons.
Meanwhile, Iranian officials are already talking openly about achieving "deterrence," implying that the country now has everything it needs to build a bomb.
While Iran says it has no plans to build nuclear weapons, it has stockpiles of highly enriched uranium that can be turned into weapons-grade fuel for at least three bombs within days to weeks, current and former officials say.
Nuclear weapons in the world
Currently, Russia's nuclear weapons are already in Belarus, that is, closer to NATO territory. Western intelligence agents and analysts using open data have spent months monitoring the deployment of Russian troops in Belarus, which Russian leader Vladimir Putin calls a warning to the West.
The redeployment of weapons to Belarus means that it is one of the westernmost places where Russia's nuclear arsenal is located.
In addition, Russia currently has 5,580 nuclear warheads. Of this number, 2,670 warheads from the nuclear arsenal are in stock, and 1,200 obsolete warheads are still not disposed of and are stored in warehouses in Russia.
