Iran is said to be posing a nuclear threat. However, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog agency, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), ‘reiterates that it has no concrete proof that there is or has been a nuclear weapon programme in Iran.’

In spite of all the furor and frenzy over Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons development, atomic scientists state that it is ‘notoriously difficult to build an advanced nuclear weapon.’

When interviewed regarding Iran’s nuclear weapon capability, Leonard Spector, deputy director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, has this to say: “It’s a very challenging goal. I’d say they’re at least a good year or more away from developing a basic weapon. They need to fabricate a bomb, and to get it on a missile warhead is tricky.”

For a nuclear bomb to be created, one needs weapons-grade uranium. ‘Weapons-grade uranium, or isotope U-235, is a highly unstable form that makes up less than 1 percent (.7 percent) of the concentration of uranium ore that is dug up. The Federation of American Scientists estimates that uranium needs to be refined to a concentration of at least 80 percent U-235 to be weapons-grade, though upwards of 90 percent is preferable.’

The challenge is difficult as it is painstaking – from ‘enriching the material, to building a successful detonation device, to delivering it all with conventional missiles that may not be able to carry the extra weight of a nuclear warhead.’

According to Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, a major problem with uranium bombs is that ‘the material happens to be the world’s heaviest naturally occurring element (twice as heavy as lead). Says the Union of Concerned Scientists, ‘a nuclear bomb needs about 33 pounds (15 kilograms) of uranium to be operational, a requirement that hinders how far a missile can travel. The bulkiness of uranium also makes it harder to mount the technology to existing missile systems.’

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Via Live Science