Iran Planning Ten New Nuke Sites

Iran’s government has approved plans to build 10 new uranium enrichment plants, according to state TV.

The government told the Iranian nuclear agency to begin work on five sites, with five more to be located over the next two months, the report said.

It comes days after the UN nuclear watchdog rebuked Iran for covering up a uranium enrichment plant.

Western powers say Iran is trying to develop nuclear arms. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.

BBC Tehran correspondent Jon Leyne says Sunday’s announcement is a massive act of defiance likely to bring forward direct confrontation over Iran’s nuclear program.

On Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) passed a resolution that was heavily critical of Iran for covering up a uranium enrichment plant near the town of Qom. Only Cuba and Venezuala refused to sign the resolution. The Obama Administration hailed the fact that China and Russia are signatories to the resolution. Signing is only because the IAEA has absolutely no enforcement authority or ability, and there is no indication either China or Russia will support stronger sanctions against Iran.

Earlier on Sunday it was reported that the Iranian parliament had urged President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government to reduce co-operation with the IAEA. There was also a suggestion Iran may withdraw from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

Last week the IAEA admitted its failure in Iran, and the Teheran regime thumbed its nose rejecting the idea of sending its slightly enriched uranium to others for refinement into fuel rods. It had said it would ship 120 kilograms at 20% purity to make into fueld rods for use in its reactor. Uranium 235 is an isotope of naturally occurring Uranium 238 occuring at about 0.72% in nature.

Uranium 235 is considered “weapons grade” at 90% purity. It powered the A-Bomb that destroyed Hiroshima in a fission reaction.

Plutonium Pu-239 is produced artificially in nuclear reactors when a neutron is absorbed by U-238. Plutonium-240 is also produced when Pu-239 absorbs an additional neutron and sometimes fails to fission. Pu-240 has a high rate of spontaneous fission, which can cause a nuclear weapon to predetonate, and its concentration must be less than 7% for the plutonium to be weapons-grade. Plutonium 239 can be used to produce a more powerful explosion in a fusion reaction. It powered the A-bomb that destroyed Nagasaki in World War II.

Thermonuclear bombs work by using the energy of a fission (A) bomb in order to compress and heat fusion fuel. In the Teller-Ulam design, which accounts for all multi-megaton yield hydrogen bombs, this is accomplished by placing a fission bomb and fusion fuel (tritium, deuterium, or lithium deuteride) in proximity within a special, radiation-reflecting container. When the fission bomb is detonated, gamma and X-rays emitted first compress the fusion fuel, then heat it to thermonuclear temperatures. The ensuing fusion reaction creates enormous numbers of high-speed neutrons, which then can induce fission in materials which normally are not prone to it, such as depleted uranium.

It is likely that Iran can produce an A-bomb within a few months but, unlikely it can produce a thermo nuclear weapon which is much more powerful. But, the argument is not relevant since even a comparatively less powerful A-bomb could destroy a seaport or city.