To build a bomb they need HEU at 85% at least --varying stats for that. The rumor was they purchased 3 nukes from Pak or NK for $2.5billion--they could be duds as witnessed recently, but Iran has bought duds before. They are currently not ready becoz they are nervous to go it alone, If NK and Iran co-ordinate they may get bolder, but NK needs a live nuke on a missile, then a co-ordinated plan could work-Kim has the ballz the Ayatollahs don't. But frankly in the current scenario Iran is on the margins and pensive about nukes--look at Iraq, US has 10,000 nukes + F-22--whats all that power good for if we can't even keep the road to the airport safe. Conclusion: They want em, but ain't willing to risk it, they may have acquired nukes of questinable size or quality, and if needed within 3 years they could have a missile capable one. But Plutonium is preferred, I do not know about their Plutonium program.

NK already have working nukes if not they will very soon built one.  They have the materials, however miniaturizing is another matter. NK needs Iran as a "trench mate" to see through this nuclear issue. 

 

Japan will go nuclear no sweat especially with Abe in charge. 

 

Do u think Iran Has biological weapons?

I think the reason Kim has balls and the Ayatollahs don'tis because of their economies. NK economy is in ruin but they still went ahead to grasp the holy grail.

 

Iran on the other hand has a lot to lose from ecomonic sanctions, plus they have to deal with the Israel factor.

 

BTW  u said Iran brought duds before, from whom if I may ask? Were they nuclear? 

With apologies: "With great power come great accountability". This is indeed the great angst for Iran. The obviously want nukes, but do they really want to be targeted by every nuclear missile on an Ohio class sub? This is the cost of joining the nuclear club and choosing the US as an enemy. Launching even a single nuke would result in hundreds in return.

Multiple sources are suggesting the Iranians are outsourcing their nuke testing to the North Koreans. Wish we knew for certain. This is undoubtly safer than direct Iranian testing and allows considerable deniablity. Even if the Iranian do acquire nukes I do not believe they will ever launch one.  The better question is whether either the Koreans or Iranians will ultimately help these fall into the hands of some organization like Al Qaeda. Neither may be friends with Al Qaeda, but recall that in the Middle East "the enemy of my enemy is my friend (at least for today)" rules.

 

Dealing with a nuclear Iran or Korea is far easier than dealing with a borderless entity like Al Qaeda.  Maybe the best solution is to announce that any nuke on US or allied soil will simply be assumed to have come from Iran and Korea and both will receive instant retribution...

The purpose of nukes is to prevent the larger fish from eating the smaller fish while allowing the little fish to do pretty much whatever it wants to do. That is all. So target away with all the Ohio class boomers you have. Iran will NOT launch first.

 

They're simply going to start running the region. And the big loser in a region with a newly armed nuclear state is the larger aggressor nation that was (trying to run/running) the region.

 

Hence the US fears a nuclear armed Iran. A nuclear Iran can/will ramp up the effort to drive the US out of the M.E. without much fear of the US coming directly back at them. IOW, the US would simply be constrained to fighting Iran in Iraq. A classic proxy war which it seems well on the way to losing. And this is with an Iran that still fears a direct attack upon itself by the US. Should Iran achieve a nuclear deterrent, it would radically increase its support of the insurgency and pretty much doom the US effort to remain in Iraq. Likewise, it would also begin to intimidate its neighbors in much the same fashion as the lone superpower currently does. Regime change.

 

Therefore the rationale for Iran obtaining nukes precludes them simply handing off a nuke to a terrorist group. Because the actual USE of a nuke immediately invalidates all the benefits of simply possessing them.

The purpose of nukes is to prevent the larger fish from eating the smaller fish while allowing the little fish to do pretty much whatever it wants to do. That is all. So target away with all the Ohio class boomers you have. Iran will NOT launch first.

 

They're simply going to start running the region. And the big loser in a region with a newly armed nuclear state is the larger aggressor nation that was (trying to run/running) the region.

 

Hence the US fears a nuclear armed Iran. A nuclear Iran can/will ramp up the effort to drive the US out of the M.E. without much fear of the US coming directly back at them. IOW, the US would simply be constrained to fighting Iran in Iraq. A classic proxy war which it seems well on the way to losing. And this is with an Iran that still fears a direct attack upon itself by the US. Should Iran achieve a nuclear deterrent, it would radically increase its support of the insurgency and pretty much doom the US effort to remain in Iraq. Likewise, it would also begin to intimidate its neighbors in much the same fashion as the lone superpower currently does. Regime change.

 

Therefore the rationale for Iran obtaining nukes precludes them simply handing off a nuke to a terrorist group. Because the actual USE of a nuke immediately invalidates all the benefits of simply possessing them.