IRAN/NUKES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Iran could quickly ramp up its nuclear activities now that President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 international agreement designed to curtail them. But experts and former officials differ over how long Tehran would need to build a bomb. Some, pointing to Iran’s slow past progress and independent analyses, believe Iran would need several years to produce a nuclear weapon. Others think Tehran could build one in little over a year. Iranian officials have said they could accelerate nuclear activities and start enriching uranium within days. Separate from the technical question is the political one. U.S. officials have voiced skepticism that Iran would quickly return to work on a bomb…Many observers believe Iran has incentives not to expand its nuclear activities or expel international inspectors even if the U.S. exits the deal. Iranian officials hope to maintain trade with Europe—which is mainly supportive of the pact—and an outright return to nuclear activities would likely stop that. Attempting to relaunch its nuclear program secretly would slow Iran’s path significantly and carry major risks.”
– Laurence Norman, “How Fast Iran Could Build a Nuclear Bomb,” The Wall Street Journal, May 8, 2018 2:21 pm