Iran ‘frighteningly close’ to nuclear weapons, US energy secretary says

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Wednesday that Iran was “frighteningly close” to constructing nuclear weapons, telling lawmakers Tehran was weeks away from enriching one ton of uranium to weapons-grade levels.

“They are weeks, a small number of weeks away to enrich that to weapons-grade uranium,” Wright told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “There’s still a weaponization process that happens after that, but they’re quite close to constructing nuclear weapons.”

Wright said Iran also had uranium enriched up to 60%, as well as “a lot of” 20% enriched uranium, which he called “very concerning.”

Asked whether US President Donald Trump would need to target all of Iran’s uranium stockpiles to stop enrichment, Wright said, “I think that’s the wise strategy.”

“Ultimately, the goal is to prevent future enrichment of uranium as well. Yes, to have a safe world, we need to end their nuclear program,” he added.