Iran was enriching nuclear material, which it has been using for civilian nuclear power generation. This is an important distinction. The American regime is “flooding the zone” with bullshit, so that when we hear “nuclear,” your mind sort of auto-completes the phrase with “weapons.” But Iran has (had?) a nuclear enrichment program that was verified by the IAEA to be used for things like radiation therapy to treat cancer, and power generation.
The idea that it has to be “weapons” is implanted in your mind with propaganda techniques, like Goebbels’ big lie.
Well, to be fair, they were found by the IAEA to have enriched to 83.7%. That’s not US propaganda, that’s the IAEA. Bomb grade is around 90%. Reactor grade is around 3-5%. And the enrichment process is exponential. It takes far, far more effort to enrich the higher U235 concentration you get. It’s like trying to remove finer and finer impurities from a glass of water. The point being there is absolutely zero reason to enrich Uranium to those levels, unless you are aiming for a bomb. It’s an incredible amount of extra effort, a whole lot more diplomatic and political risk, all for something that is completely unnecessary for a reactor program.
Though frankly, I think we should just let them have their bomb. They would be a lot more responsible with it than Israel has been with theirs.
I find it a little hard to swallow that since inspections ended (thanks to Trump) that Iran hasn’t started enriching some weapons grade uranium. It’s not like it takes different equipment.
The “intelligence” that Iran is weeks away from getting a weapon is obviously complete bullshit. I’m just saying that I’m sure they have been working that direction, maybe just preparing for a time when it made more strategic sense to start building them. If they ever want nukes, they will need to make a whole lot at once, just to avoid getting invaded after the first test.
Indeed, I agree. I phrased that sentence with great care, to point out that there are plenty of legitimate, non-weapons reasons for Iran to have a nuclear materials enrichment program, and it is well-documented that it has been using its program for exactly that. That’s the important point, here: Iran has a right to enrich uranium for domestic use, and had been doing so under the supervision of IAEA inspectors who verified that it was for domestic use, but the U.S. regime is deploying propaganda to bury that fact.
Maybe the government also had a secondary aim of maintaining a “breakout capability” to be able to produce material for weapons in a relatively short time. I wouldn’t be surprised, because… that’s exactly what I think I would do were I in their shoes, facing a genocidal, revanchist enemy enabled by a superpower that spends stunning amounts of money on invading and destroying other nations.
and had been doing so under the supervision of IAEA inspectors who verified that it was for domestic use,
This part is just wrong. The IAEA has continued to report on Iran as best they can, but their monitoring equipment has been removed and there have been no inspections for over four years. I don’t want to repeat myself, but elsewhere in this discussion I included excerpts from the most recent IAEA quarterly report that back this up.
How is this wrong? If the monitoring equipment was removed, it had to have been there at some point. Thus, Iran had been doing enrichment under IAEA supervision, which is what the JCPOA was all about until TACO tanked it.
I don’t think anybody is saying Iran didn’t have inspectors and monitoring at some point, but four years is a lot of time.
I also think it’s pretty common knowledge that Trump tore up Obama’s agreement. I still think it should be mentioned more, as well as Biden’s 180 on his campaign promise to reinstate it.
It’s possible to strike nuclear power plants in such ways that on-site staff are at high risk of death but nearby population is not. I’d assume it’s the same for nuclear silos? Or, they didn’t do much damage?
That’s why I point it out. The Mind Trick is working, and they’re successfully shaping the story so that folks who aren’t paying close attention (that is, the majority of us) start imagining silos with ICBMs.
They either don’t really build a nuclear weapon or it’s a red herring
Iran was enriching nuclear material, which it has been using for civilian nuclear power generation. This is an important distinction. The American regime is “flooding the zone” with bullshit, so that when we hear “nuclear,” your mind sort of auto-completes the phrase with “weapons.” But Iran has (had?) a nuclear enrichment program that was verified by the IAEA to be used for things like radiation therapy to treat cancer, and power generation.
The idea that it has to be “weapons” is implanted in your mind with propaganda techniques, like Goebbels’ big lie.
Well, to be fair, they were found by the IAEA to have enriched to 83.7%. That’s not US propaganda, that’s the IAEA. Bomb grade is around 90%. Reactor grade is around 3-5%. And the enrichment process is exponential. It takes far, far more effort to enrich the higher U235 concentration you get. It’s like trying to remove finer and finer impurities from a glass of water. The point being there is absolutely zero reason to enrich Uranium to those levels, unless you are aiming for a bomb. It’s an incredible amount of extra effort, a whole lot more diplomatic and political risk, all for something that is completely unnecessary for a reactor program.
Though frankly, I think we should just let them have their bomb. They would be a lot more responsible with it than Israel has been with theirs.
I find it a little hard to swallow that since inspections ended (thanks to Trump) that Iran hasn’t started enriching some weapons grade uranium. It’s not like it takes different equipment.
The “intelligence” that Iran is weeks away from getting a weapon is obviously complete bullshit. I’m just saying that I’m sure they have been working that direction, maybe just preparing for a time when it made more strategic sense to start building them. If they ever want nukes, they will need to make a whole lot at once, just to avoid getting invaded after the first test.
Indeed, I agree. I phrased that sentence with great care, to point out that there are plenty of legitimate, non-weapons reasons for Iran to have a nuclear materials enrichment program, and it is well-documented that it has been using its program for exactly that. That’s the important point, here: Iran has a right to enrich uranium for domestic use, and had been doing so under the supervision of IAEA inspectors who verified that it was for domestic use, but the U.S. regime is deploying propaganda to bury that fact.
Maybe the government also had a secondary aim of maintaining a “breakout capability” to be able to produce material for weapons in a relatively short time. I wouldn’t be surprised, because… that’s exactly what I think I would do were I in their shoes, facing a genocidal, revanchist enemy enabled by a superpower that spends stunning amounts of money on invading and destroying other nations.
This part is just wrong. The IAEA has continued to report on Iran as best they can, but their monitoring equipment has been removed and there have been no inspections for over four years. I don’t want to repeat myself, but elsewhere in this discussion I included excerpts from the most recent IAEA quarterly report that back this up.
How is this wrong? If the monitoring equipment was removed, it had to have been there at some point. Thus, Iran had been doing enrichment under IAEA supervision, which is what the JCPOA was all about until TACO tanked it.
I don’t think anybody is saying Iran didn’t have inspectors and monitoring at some point, but four years is a lot of time.
I also think it’s pretty common knowledge that Trump tore up Obama’s agreement. I still think it should be mentioned more, as well as Biden’s 180 on his campaign promise to reinstate it.
It’s possible to strike nuclear power plants in such ways that on-site staff are at high risk of death but nearby population is not. I’d assume it’s the same for nuclear silos? Or, they didn’t do much damage?
What silos? If you’re envisioning nuclear-armed missiles, the Fascist Mind Trick is working on you.
I don’t know (I try to ignore such news) but I was just writing in generic terms
That’s why I point it out. The Mind Trick is working, and they’re successfully shaping the story so that folks who aren’t paying close attention (that is, the majority of us) start imagining silos with ICBMs.