Iran claims it has the capability to build its own nuclear bomb

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Iran posted on Sunday that the country, hostile to the United States, is fully capable of constructing its own nuclear bomb.

A senior advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei told Al Jazeera that the country will soon be able to enrich uranium up to 60% and “easily” produce enriched uranium up to 90%. The figure is far above the 3.67%  under the failed 2015 nuclear pact Tehran agreed to with the United States and other nuclear powers.

“Iran has the technical means to produce a nuclear bomb but there has been no decision by Iran to build one,” said Kamal Kharazzi in an interview with the Arabic-language news service, Reuters reported. 

Despite concerns from the United States and its allies in the Middle East, Iran has repeatedly denied that it has any plans to seek the construction of nuclear weapons, arguing that it only intends to refine uranium for the purpose of producing electricity.

The United States maintains that Iran intends to develop nuclear weapons for the purpose of threatening its neighbours, especially Israel, which it has long opposed.

Iran is currently under sanction by the United States for repeated breaches of its agreement not to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons development, a point that Iran says is reversible should the U.S. lift its sanctions on the country.

The Biden administration has sought to bring Iran back to the negotiation table through repeated talks following the former Trump administration’s diplomatic exit from the agreement that was first agreed upon between the Iranian regime and former President Barack Obama.

In 2018, Trump broke off from the nuclear pact, under which Iran reduced its uranium enrichment program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

Both the United States under Biden and Iran have conducted indirect talks, which aim to reconcile the differences between both countries, with little progress to show since March.

“The United States has not provided guarantees on preserving the nuclear deal and this ruins the possibility of any agreement,” Kharrazi said.

Israel has threatened to attack Iranian nuclear sites should diplomatic efforts by the United States and its allies fail to curb Tehran from producing nuclear weapons.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Karrazi said that Iran will never negotiate its ballistic missile program or alter its policies hostile to Israel and its neighbours.

“Any targeting of our security from neighbouring countries will be met with direct response to these countries and Israel,” he said.