flandish comments on no increase in radiation following US airstrikes on Iran's nuclear

[–] flandish@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago (10 children)

well duh. there was as much “nuclear material” there as there was “wmds” when bushy wanted to invade iraq.

[–] mienshao@lemm.ee 12 points 1 year ago (9 children)

Dude stop. Iran did/does have a nuclear program. It’s not secret and is something they’re quite proud of. There’s a difference from having a nuclear program, which they definitely did have and no one disagrees, and having a nuclear weapons program, which has been widely up for debate largely bc of how secretive Iran has been about it.

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[+] stardustwager@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago (8 children)

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[–] WoodScientist@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 year ago* (2 children)

We found the smoking gun in 2023. They were found by the IAEA to have enriched uranium to 83.7%. And there is zero reason to enrich to this level except for weapons production.

https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/documents/gov2023-8.pdf

In terms of accessing the nuclear capabilities of nations, there is no more credible a source than the IAEA.

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[+] stardustwager@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 child)

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[–] WoodScientist@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 year ago

I was responding specifically to your claim of there being no credible evidence of a bomb program. Whether they should have a bomb is another question entirely.

But back to the main point. Enrichment to 83.7% IS absolute proof of a nuclear weapons program. That is what you're missing. Reactor grade is 3-5%. There are no practical applications aside from bombs that require enrichment that high. There's literally no other reason to do it.

Nuclear enrichment is not something you just do for fun. It's expensive and dangerous, both in terms of worker safety and geopolitics. And the cost to enrich to bomb grade is at least an order of magnitude more than what is required to enrich to reactor grade.

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[–] Bloomcole@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

Smoking gun LOL, was it yellow cake WMD's Dubya?
You're deliberately misinterpreting the report:

The IAEA report, which only speaks about “particles,” suggests that Iran isn’t building a stockpile of uranium enriched above 60 percent"
https://thecradle.co/articles/iran-iaea-put-to-bed-allegations-of-near-weapons-grade-uranium

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[–] Tinidril@midwest.social 6 points 1 year ago (4 children)

There wouldn't be. The infrastructure required for weapons grade uranium is exactly the same infrastructure used for less enriched uranium. Inspectors could check radiation levels inside the facilities, but Trump brought that to an end.

None of this is meant to support the justification that Iran was weeks away from getting a weapon. That was pure bullshit.

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[–] yogurt@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

There have been inspectors checking radiation levels the entire time. There are inspectors in Iran right now, the only reason there's an interruption in inspections is the IAEA doesn't want to get bombed.

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[–] Tinidril@midwest.social 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

The IAEA has continued to report on Iran's nuclear program. That does not mean there have been inspections. The following excerpts are from their last quarterly report in May.

The Agency has lost continuity of knowledge in relation to the production and current inventory of centrifuges, rotors and bellows, heavy water and UOC, which it will not be able to restore as a result of not having been able to perform JCPOA-related verification and monitoring activities for more than four years.
Iran’s decision to remove all of the Agency’s equipment previously installed in Iran for JCPOA-related surveillance and monitoring activities has also had detrimental implications for the Agency’s ability to provide assurance of the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme.

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[–] yogurt@lemmy.world 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

"Our inspectors remain in Iran"

JCPOA was the extra deal that allowed the IAEA to inspect more than just nuclear facilities and put surveillance cameras on things that aren't nuclear enough to be covered by the NPT like dual use industrial equipment and raw uranium ore. Iran still follows the NPT and all the bombed facilities are declared nuclear sites that the IAEA has been inspecting.

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[–] Tinidril@midwest.social 2 points 1 year ago

I don't think that "centrifuges, rotors and bellows" qualify for "aren't nuclear enough". Combined with the raw uranium ore, there is no way to know how much refinement is being done.

Saying that inspections continued uninterrupted is a little bit disingenuous when it leaves out that the inspection capabilities have been rolled back so far as to make them nearly useless.

I still seriously doubt the "intelligence" used to justify these attacks. I also think that it's extremely unlikely that the bulk of Iran's enriched stockpiles were destroyed by the US attacks. I also think the US knew that would be the case, laying bare the truth that destroying them was never the real objective.

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[–] flandish@lemmy.world 1 point 1 year ago*

Show your source. Prove the positive (that they have a weapons capable program.)

Wanting electricity or cancer treatment is not the same. Having that type of program does not make the Israel/US bombs ok.

Additionally, if the US, who has used nukes on civilians, can have weapons, why can’t another sovereign nation have them?

Nothing Iran has done or does is as bad as the US’ history regarding nukes. Them having a weapons program does not make the Israel/US bombs ok.