Iran ‘dangerously close’ to nuclear weapons: Israeli PM

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett makes a statement at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, June 12, 2022. (Reuters)
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  • Naftali Bennett: Tehran ‘enriching uranium at an unprecedented rate’
  • ‘The world must take a firm stance … Iran’s nuclear program won’t stop until it’s stopped’

LONDON: Iran is “dangerously close” to completing its nuclear weapons program, and will be able to produce an atomic bomb unless the West gets tough on Tehran, Israel’s prime minister has warned.

Naftali Bennett told the UK’s Telegraph newspaper that Western allies are “waking up” to the threat of Iran becoming a nuclear power, as Israeli leaders urged Britain and others to keep up the pressure on Tehran.

“Iran is enriching uranium at an unprecedented rate and moving dangerously close to getting their hands on nuclear weapons,” Bennett said.

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His comments come as Tehran reportedly reached uranium enrichment of 60 percent, a level that allows for production of a bomb.

“Without pressure from the west, the Islamic regime in Iran could get their hands on a nuclear bomb very soon,” he said. “The world must take a firm stance … Iran’s nuclear program won’t stop until it’s stopped.”

Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tehran is failing to cooperate with investigations into its nuclear program, and had suddenly turned off at least two surveillance cameras that monitor nuclear sites.