Does Iran have a path to the bomb?

Centrifuges seen inside the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran.

| Photo Credit: AP

Iran is expected to have around 500 kg of uranium enriched to 60%. U-235 is the isotope of uranium conventionally used in nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors. Enrichment is the process of increasing the quantity of U-235 in the uranium mass. The rest will be U-238, which is not a good fissile material.

Whereas a nuclear reactor producing electric power needs uranium to be enriched only up to 20%, a nuclear weapon generally needs 90%. So the question is: if Iran has uranium enriched to 60%, what time and resources lie between this point and Iran possessing an a-bomb?

Published - April 03, 2026 07:15 am IST