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MI chief Amos Yadlin.
 Tess Shaplan / Jini
Last update - 17:15 25/03/2009
MI chief: Iran has crossed nuclear bomb threshold
By Shahar Ilan, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Yadlin, Nuclear, Israel News 

Military Intelligence chief Amos Yadlin told lawmakers on Wednesday that Iran has "crossed the technological threshold" for making a nuclear bomb.

He told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the Islamic Republic has developed surface-to-surface missiles that can carry nuclear warheads.

Yadlin said achieving a military nuclear capacity "was mainly dependent on a political decision by Iran."
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According to Yadlin, the bottleneck in Iran's nuclear weapons program was in obtaining fissionable material.

He said the Islamic Republic's strategy is not merely to produce one bomb, which could force them into a conflict with the world, but to enrich a large amount of fissionable material at a low level of 4.5 percent. But Iran claims that it needs to do this for civilian purposes only, Yadlin said.

The Iranians enrich between one and two kilos of low grade uranium, Yadlin said. However, once they decide to bring that to weapon's grade enrichment levels (93%) they could produce the amount needed for a bomb within several months to a year.

In spite of the harsh reality he described, the MI chief claimed that the "battle to prevent a nuclear Iran is not yet lost."

"The right combination of talks and sanctions, the carrot and the stick, could," Yadlin said, "bring about a change in Iran's policies."

Yadlin also addressed lawmakers on the Hamas leadership in Gaza, saying that the Islamist organization was preparing itself for another round of fighting.

Weapons that Hamas lacked during Operation Cast Lead, such as long-range rockets, and anti-aircraft and anti-tank weaponry, are being smuggled into Gaza, Yadlin said, adding that it was "the reason Hamas will not, under any circumstances, sign an agreement to end Gaza smuggling."

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      1.   crossed threshold 14:39  |  JBT 25/03/09
      2.   Another attempt by Israel 14:48  |  Chris Linthwaite 25/03/09
      3.   Time for Action-The Clock is Ticking 14:59  |  Yonatan Maisel 25/03/09
      4.   Don`t Wait Any Longer 15:08  |  Igal 25/03/09
      5.   Said the same thing about Saddam Hussien 15:14  |  W 25/03/09
      6.   He said that there are no nusclear weapons in IRI 15:19  |  Ross 25/03/09
      7.   Iran Threshold Crossings 15:29  |  Canadian 25/03/09
      8.   # 2- Dehimi deluxe 15:44  |  Wendy 25/03/09
      9.   Obviously Iran will not detonate a N.Bomb. 15:49  |  Stephen. 25/03/09
      10.   NOBEL PREACE PRIZE FOR HAARETZ 15:50  |  JOHN ISH ISHMAEL 25/03/09
      11.   Stop Gaza arms buildup now..why wait? 15:54  |  hsk01945 25/03/09
      12.   Fear Mongering/Self-Fulfilling Prophecies 15:59  |  MariaM 25/03/09
      13.   Iran cossing (another) nuclear threshold 16:00  |  DT 25/03/09
      14.   It`s Amazing 16:04  |  Persian Kitty 25/03/09
      15.   Iran nuclear threshold 16:08  |  Fred 25/03/09
      16.   Not true 16:13  |  Marilyn 25/03/09
      17.   More sensless talk of war 16:25  |  dreamer 25/03/09
      18.   Shouldn`t Haaretz be busy condemning Jewish warcrimes? 16:38  |  steve from raleigh 25/03/09
      19.   #5 - W; your message left out one crucial name 16:40  |  Wendy 25/03/09
      20.   style is as important as substance 16:41  |  American 25/03/09
      21.   32nd time this year 16:41  |  Roo 25/03/09
      22.   Geez, how pathetic!!! Say, my grandma 16:45  |  ballistic 25/03/09
      23.   #Wendy. Invoking the Shoah, again. 17:08  |  Lou Medel 25/03/09
      24.   #17 Hey Dreamer, you said it better than I ever could. 17:12  |  Lou Medel 25/03/09
      25.   @19 You should learn history 17:12  |  Andi 25/03/09
      26.   To Persian Kitty (#14): Even more amazing 17:14  |  Morris Valentine 25/03/09
      27.   The Stupidity of the US and Europe 17:26  |  Scott L. Havsy 25/03/09
      28.   #19, #26 --- Fund your own war 17:39  |  PR 25/03/09
      29.   hey man,we are the donkey 17:40  |  drdanielito 25/03/09
      30.   Uh-oh, Israel wants another war 17:48  |  peacelover 25/03/09
      31.   Morris Valentine or Morris Minor 17:55  |  Roo 25/03/09
      32.   The strike will come from Lebanon 18:08  |  Barry Wasserman 25/03/09
      33.   WANT ANOTHER WAR, AMOS. GIVE IT A TRY 18:09  |  indrajaya 25/03/09
      34.   #27 Scott Halfwit 18:13  |  Lou Medel 25/03/09
      35.   Marilyn Australia 18:33  |  Joshua 25/03/09
      36.   When is a threshold not a threshold? 18:39  |  Stephen 25/03/09
      37.   the boy who cried wolf 18:45  |  Uetliberg 25/03/09
      38.   Iran gas crossed nuclear bomb threshold 18:49  |  ASPERANZA 25/03/09
      39.   In Two Months We`ll Know For Certain 19:02  |  Yosemite 25/03/09
      40.   #.38 ASPERANZA.....High performance.. 19:29  |  Stephen. 25/03/09
      41.   Iran had notified Ben Jabo Ben Tize that it became nuclear 19:42  |  Aounist 25/03/09
      42.   To all of you Americans. 19:48  |  4:20 25/03/09
      43.   #9, Stephen 20:15  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 25/03/09
      44.   #34 Ouch!!!! Bandaid needed!!! 20:58  |  ballistic 25/03/09
      45.   indrajaya - Wait and see..... 21:17  |  Ben 25/03/09
      46.   Fanatics` nukes 21:35  |  Brod 25/03/09
      47.   Sorry Morris, I`m with Persian Kitty 21:43  |  BBSNews 25/03/09
      48.   what is wrong with having another nuclear power in the ME? 21:45  |  Albert 25/03/09
      49.   How about an Israel-Iran deal? 22:28  |  Nick 25/03/09
      50.   #.43 Cipora Julliana Kohn. 22:52  |  Stephen. 25/03/09
      51.   The Big Poker Game 23:11  |  al 25/03/09
      52.   Barry Wasserman, it doesn`t matter where it comes from 23:12  |  Peter Williams 25/03/09
      53.   More lies more threats.... 09:27  |  john and the TRUTH! 26/03/09
      54.   MI chief earns his salary 03:56  |  gabriel 27/03/09
      55.   BSnews - It doesn`t matter who you`re with 19:12  |  *BEN JABO 27/03/09
      56.   Not True?? 01:08  |  Doug 28/03/09
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