Iran could enrich uranium to weapons-grade within weeks, William Burns, head of the Central Intelligence Agency, said in a weekend interview. The assessment comes after Iran on Thursday acknowledged accusations by international inspectors that it has enriched uranium to 84% purity. Weapons-grade uranium requires 90% purity. Still Burns told CBS News on Saturday that he does not believe that the Iranian regime has made a decision to enrich uranium to the purity necessary to create a nuclear weapon.
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“They’ve advanced very far to the point where it would only be a matter of weeks before they could enrich to 90%, if they chose to cross that line, and also in terms of their missile systems, their ability to deliver a nuclear weapon once they’ve developed it has also been advancing as well,” Burns said.
Meanwhile, a high-up Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander announced over the weekend that Iran has developed a long-range cruise missile that can travel about 1,025 miles. Amirali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guards aerospace force, made the announcement on state television, which also broadcast footage of the new Paveh cruise missile. He said that the IRGC is “looking to kill” former US President Donald Trump, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the military commanders who participated in killing Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike in 2020 in Baghdad.