There is no nuclear weapons program.

[MayReasonRule]

Last edited Tue Jun 17, 2025, 03:50 PM - Edit history (2)

There is no nuclear weapons program. Fetterman’s pals in the Trump administration - including DNI Gabbard - have confirmed there is no nuclear weapons program.

Fetterman is lying. Openly. Demonstrably. Shamelessly.

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan.bsky.social) 2025-06-17T04:06:04.514Z

U.S. Intel Says Iran Isn’t a Nuclear Threat. Israel Wants the U.S. to Bomb It Anyway.

theintercept.com/2025/06/17/i...

— Nick Turse (@nickturse.bsky.social) 2025-06-17T19:48:47.950Z

[creon]

1. no program

It is very unlikely that I ran has a nuclear weapons program

[Goddessartist]

2. Yep

Meanwhile, Israel has a large amount of nuclear warheads.

[Ponietz]

3. Just a cache of near-weapons grade enriched uranium expanded by 50% in the last 3 months--enough for 10 bombs

It’s disingenuous to say Iran doesn’t have a “program”. True, they hadn’t yet assembled a nuke, but they’re making the essential component.

But, a meme is more interesting, and fuck the truth if my talking point furthers my political aims.

What the IAEA found:

https://www.cfr.org/article/what-are-irans-nuclear-and-missile-capabilities

Urgency surrounding the talks ramped up in May, however, when the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a report stating that Iran’s cache of near-weapons grade enriched uranium had surged by about 50 percent in the prior three months. The surge puts Iran a step away from having enough enriched uranium for ten nuclear weapons, the IAEA found. Iran maintains its enrichment program is peaceful.

The IAEA, meanwhile, has also said that Iran continues to be “less than satisfactory” in “a number of respects” regarding its nuclear cooperation. “But one thing is certain,” Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN nuclear body, said. “The [Iranian] programme runs wide and deep.”

[MayReasonRule]

5. The Point Is That It Is Not An "Imminent Threat" As Is Claimed That Was Necessarly Worthy Of This Strike

Listening to a discussion regarding this right now on Democracy Now!

https://www.democracynow.org/

Happy Tuesday y'all!!

[Ponietz]

6. "Imminent" can mean whatever

But it’s disingenuous and misleading to say there is no “program”.

To me, it’s morally unjustifiable for a few countries to hold nukes while making war to prohibit others from obtaining them.

If the U.S. and Israel want to safeguard their people — all nukes should be disassembled and eliminated. So much cognitive dissonance.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

9. Your idea of imminent and Israel's idea of imminent are far different,

I think I'll believe Israeli intelligence over an anonymous person on a chat board, after all, Israeli intelligence is the best in the ME, especially when it comes to Iran.
BTW, what intelligence service do you belong to to make such a statement?

[MayReasonRule]

14. Your Assessment Is As Valid As The Individual That Posted On Bluesky

Thanks for your input!

[Cuthbert Allgood]

16. Certainly, I mean, Israel wouldn't lie about that.

They've been telling us for decades that Iran and Iraq are weeks away from a nuclear weapon and they don't have one, yet, but, for sure, let's believe them.

[Melon]

24. The problem is you can't be one day late

We don’t know the true extent of Iran’s nuclear program. We do know their ambitions and they have threatened the west many times.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. TSF will bomb Iran anyway.

It won't be b/c of nukes.

It's for the 1979 humiliation of the U.S. when "students" took over the American Embassy and the Shah was deposed. And American oil interests were shut out of Iran.

Petty revenge.

[LexVegas]

7. Their foreign policy calls for the destruction of Israel as a Jewish state. nt

[Cuthbert Allgood]

17. And Israel's foreign policy calls for the end of Palestine.

What's you're point? They didn't have the nuclear weapons decades ago when Israel said they were going to have them shortly and they don't have them now.

[tritsofme]

22. How can you end something that doesn't exist?

[Cuthbert Allgood]

35. 147 UN member states would disagree with you.

Also, that's gross. Seems like the mindset that makes it OK for Israel to just continue their continuous land grab.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

23. OP posted a thread that says Iran has no nuclear weapons program

which is patently false.

[Kid Berwyn]

8. Fetterman forgot about PNAC

“Boys go to Baghdad. Real men go to Tehran.” — Michael Ledeen’s hairdresser.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

10. This is pure bull,

Iran may not have had a working nuke yet, but they definitely did have a nuclear weapons program headed towards a working bomb.

[MayReasonRule]

15. K...

[tritsofme]

11. This is sophistry at best, more likely just pure apologism for the Iranian regime.

[MayReasonRule]

18. The Individual That Posted On Bluesky Does Not Have Any History Of Being An Aplogist For Iran As Far As I Know

Perhaps you are privy to information I am not regarding this individual.

If so it'd be great if you'd post it so as to bring greater clarity to the import of the individual's motives that posted this on Bluesky.

My current assessment is that the individual that posted this on Bluesky posted it in "good faith"... which is why I re-posted here on Democratic Underground.

Be sure and let us know if you find evidence that supports the supposition that you have concluded is most likely.

Thanks and Happy Tuesday!

[Emile]

12. Is he getting his intelligence from Lindsey Graham?

[MayReasonRule]

20. He's Not A Supporter Of Linsay Graham From What I've Seen... Quite The Opposite Emile

I'm no fan of Iran.

I re-posted this from Bluesky here because it appears to me to be a valid perspective.

Perhaps you might lay out how you've reasoned otherwise.

I'm no fanboy of violence wherever it comes from.

[indusurb]

13. But according to Netanyahu, Iran has been just weeks away from having a nuke

Since 2012.

[sarisataka]

19. Thank Jehoshaphat there is a meme

I was starting to believe the IAEA and nuclear non-proliferation groups that said Iran was working towards achieving nuclear capability.

[MayReasonRule]

21. No Doubt That Is Correct... The Reason Given For The Attack Is That There Is An "Imminent Threat"

It does not appear to fit that definition from all that I've read, including the information from IAEA and nuclear non-proliferation groups.

Perhaps you might be kind enough to lay out what brings you to conclude that there was an imminent threat.

Thanks for your input and Happy Tuesday!

[sarisataka]

25. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists

How quickly could Iran build its first nuclear weapon? Look at China

How quickly could Iran make an atomic bomb once it has acquired enough weapons-grade uranium? Some nuclear experts argue it would take Iran anywhere between several months to up to a year. But China’s experience shows that Tehran could build a bomb much faster—in as little as three to five weeks.[1]

***

Portions of Iran’s “nuclear archive,” which Israel seized in January 2018, clearly show Iran’s weaponization projects running in parallel with HEU projects under the “Amad Plan,” Iran’s code name for a crash nuclear weapons program that operated from 1999 to 2003. The Amad Plan aimed to produce five 10-kiloton nuclear weapons by early 2004, including four deliverable warheads for the Shahab-3 ballistic missile, and another one for testing underground.

***

China’s insights. Given the similarities between Iran’s bomb and China’s 596/548 atomic bomb designs, the technical bottlenecks and timelines of China’s bomb development can shed light on Iran’s possible bomb development timelines.

The major hurdles China faced when making its first atomic bomb included the weapon design, neutron sources, the detonation wave focusing system, “cold” (or subcritical) tests, and uranium metal components production. All these are non-nuclear weapon components tasks that can be completed before HEU production, the most time-consuming step in the Chinese atomic bomb program. Once China produced HEU, it took abou three to five weeks from having sufficient UF6 gas to an assembled uranium bomb.

thttps://thebulletin.org/2025/01/how-quickly-could-iran-build-its-first-nuclear-weapon-look-at-china/

Three to five weeks is fairly imminent, unless one believes Israel should wait until Tel Aviv is leveled.

[Dreamer Tatum]

27. "unless one believes Israel should wait until Tel Aviv is leveled"

Here's how that would play out in certain circles:

Iran builds bombs, detonates in Tel Aviv. Certain unnamed people here will claim Israel set off their own bombs, because of course, Iran doesn't have any, because they're such a trusty bunch. Israel turns much of Iran into a sheet of black glass, and those certain people will say, "See? Bloodthirsty Israel kills hundreds of thousands of its own to level a completely peaceful rival."

I think that about covers it.

[MayReasonRule]

28. Thank You For The Follow Up!

I really appreciate that!

[sarisataka]

29. de nada

[ForgedCrank]

26. The IAEA disagrees.

Along with most who are familiar with the intelligence.

https://www.npr.org/2025/06/12/nx-s1-5431395/iran-nuclear-enrichment-un-compliance

https://www.twz.com/news-features/damning-iaea-report-has-given-israel-additional-pretext-to-strike-iran

[MayReasonRule]

30. I'll Have To Read Through These This Evening...Thank You For Posting The Info Within The Thread!

[Doodley]

31. What is the greatest threat? The possibility that Iran might have a nuke program, or thousands of nukes that are ready

to be launched at the whim of somebody as temperamental and moronic as Donald Trump?

[OrlandoDem2]

32. Trump is trying to get us into that war.

[Happy Hoosier]

33. I don't actually believe that

I think that 100% for sure they have a nuclear weapons program. I don;t really blame them. Having the bomb is the only thing that would make them more or less untouchable.

[Norrrm]

34. Some years back, WSJ had an article that various countries had a 'nuclear weapons program'.

They had a title but no real work going on.
Their programs were more for being negotiated away in return for some economic benefit from the big boys.

[kwolf68]

36. I bet other countries in the ME have nuke program

Ore maybe those countries need democracy spread, or regime change. Gaza is about been ethnically cleansed, time to move onto the next target. Hell, even if Iran didn't have nukes, the power whores can just say they are harboring hamas or they need democracy. Wash/rinse/repeat. Be sure to get down to your trader and invest in munitions companies, money gonna be free real soon.