Iran war live: Horror as Tehran 'has enough plutonium for 200 nuclear bombs'

Mirror

3 hours ago

Nuclear experts have warned Iran has 'enough plutonium for more than 200 nuclear bombs' amid new threats from Tehran to the US ships in the Middle East

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/iran-trump-nuclear-weapons-live-37107473.amp

Highly unlikely. Enriched Uranium doesn't form plutonium.

23 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

Highly unlikely. Enriched Uranium doesn't form plutonium.

No, but it could possibly come from processing the spent fuel rods from Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor. Though I think the Israeli's have murdered most of Iran's nuclear scientists.

Iran war live: Horror as Tehran 'has enough plutonium for 200 nuclear bombs'

Nuclear experts the propaganda department of GCHQ have warned that "Iran has 'enough plutonium for more than 200 nuclear bombs'" amid new threats from Tehran to the US ships in the Middle East.

In other news, Putin says that Russia can blow the UK off the map if he wanted to. News at 6.

How back to the propaganda to scare the low-IQ Western population.
The Claim's Source and Calculation

• Source: A April 2026 article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists by Henry Sokolski (Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, former U.S. Defense Department official). It has been widely reported in outlets like Fox News, Mirror, and others amid U.S.-Iran tensions.

  thebulletin.org

• Details:

  • Bushehr (a Russian-built light-water reactor) has ~210 tons of spent fuel in storage.

  • This contains roughly 2,000–2,100 kg of weapons-usable plutonium (based on reactor output data from IAEA PRIS and typical production rates of ~0.25 g Pu per MWd-thermal).

    thebulletin.org

  • Assuming ~10 kg of plutonium per bomb (a conservative figure for a basic implosion design; advanced designs could use less), this equates to more than 200 bombs.

    thebulletin.org

This plutonium is a byproduct of normal reactor operation and has accumulated over years of Bushehr running.

Key Caveats (Important Context)

• Not separated plutonium: The material is still inside spent fuel rods, mixed with highly radioactive waste. Iran would need a reprocessing facility to chemically extract and purify it — something Iran does not currently operate at scale for this purpose (and which would be detectable by IAEA or intelligence).

  npolicy.org

• Uranium is the more immediate concern: IAEA reports focus more on Iran's enriched uranium stockpile (enough for roughly 8–12 bombs if further processed to weapons-grade, per recent estimates). Plutonium is a secondary/"overlooked" pathway.

  iranwatch.org

• Monitoring and risks: The spent fuel pool at Bushehr is accessible. Experts urge strong safeguards (e.g., spent fuel removal, no reprocessing) in any deal, as diversion could happen faster than building a full uranium weapon in some scenarios.

  thebulletin.org

• Arak reactor: Iran's heavy-water research reactor (potential plutonium producer) was redesigned under the JCPOA to limit output and has been damaged in strikes; it is not currently a major active threat.

  timesofisrael.com

Bottom line: The "200 bombs" figure is a credible technical estimate of potential from existing spent fuel, not ready-to-use weapons material. It highlights why plutonium reprocessing is a major nonproliferation concern in talks with Iran. The claim is not exaggerated hype but a calculation from respected analysts — though realizing that potential would require further steps Iran has so far avoided (or been prevented from taking).

Oh by the way. Remember the other losers in World War 2 - the Japanese who were never suppose to militarize again.
Japan holds approximately 44.4 tonnes (44,400 kg) of separated plutonium as of the end of 2024.

aec.go.jp
I'd be more inclined to worry about the county (Japan) with no religious fatwa against making a nuclear bomb given their history.

If Iran wanted bombs, they have up to 10 of them already. Try follow MIT Professor Ted Postol who is, imho, a more trusted Expert.

Even Donald Trump hasn't made such a wild claim as this - despite him being 'never knowingly understated' ! Neither has any of his Team of Muppets, even the beleaguered Pete Hegseth! Just MO but I doubt this is true.

And it's from the "Daily Mirror" . . . .

1 hour ago, 3NUMBAS said:

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/iran-trump-nuclear-weapons-live-37107473.amp

Iran war live: Horror as Tehran 'has enough plutonium for 200 nuclear bombs'

Mirror

3 hours ago

Nuclear experts have warned Iran has 'enough plutonium for more than 200 nuclear bombs' amid new threats from Tehran to the US ships in the Middle East

The Mirror.co.uk. Gawd, what a laugh. British tabloid journalism at its finest right up there with The National Enquirer.

20 minutes ago, connda said:

Iran war live: Horror as Tehran 'has enough plutonium for 200 nuclear bombs'

Nuclear experts the propaganda department of GCHQ have warned that "Iran has 'enough plutonium for more than 200 nuclear bombs'" amid new threats from Tehran to the US ships in the Middle East.

In other news, Putin says that Russia can blow the UK off the map if he wanted to. News at 6.

How back to the propaganda to scare the low-IQ Western population.
The Claim's Source and Calculation

• Source: A April 2026 article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists by Henry Sokolski (Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, former U.S. Defense Department official). It has been widely reported in outlets like Fox News, Mirror, and others amid U.S.-Iran tensions.

  thebulletin.org

• Details:

  • Bushehr (a Russian-built light-water reactor) has ~210 tons of spent fuel in storage.

  • This contains roughly 2,000–2,100 kg of weapons-usable plutonium (based on reactor output data from IAEA PRIS and typical production rates of ~0.25 g Pu per MWd-thermal).

    thebulletin.org

  • Assuming ~10 kg of plutonium per bomb (a conservative figure for a basic implosion design; advanced designs could use less), this equates to more than 200 bombs.

    thebulletin.org

This plutonium is a byproduct of normal reactor operation and has accumulated over years of Bushehr running.

Key Caveats (Important Context)

• Not separated plutonium: The material is still inside spent fuel rods, mixed with highly radioactive waste. Iran would need a reprocessing facility to chemically extract and purify it — something Iran does not currently operate at scale for this purpose (and which would be detectable by IAEA or intelligence).

  npolicy.org

• Uranium is the more immediate concern: IAEA reports focus more on Iran's enriched uranium stockpile (enough for roughly 8–12 bombs if further processed to weapons-grade, per recent estimates). Plutonium is a secondary/"overlooked" pathway.

  iranwatch.org

• Monitoring and risks: The spent fuel pool at Bushehr is accessible. Experts urge strong safeguards (e.g., spent fuel removal, no reprocessing) in any deal, as diversion could happen faster than building a full uranium weapon in some scenarios.

  thebulletin.org

• Arak reactor: Iran's heavy-water research reactor (potential plutonium producer) was redesigned under the JCPOA to limit output and has been damaged in strikes; it is not currently a major active threat.

  timesofisrael.com

Bottom line: The "200 bombs" figure is a credible technical estimate of potential from existing spent fuel, not ready-to-use weapons material. It highlights why plutonium reprocessing is a major nonproliferation concern in talks with Iran. The claim is not exaggerated hype but a calculation from respected analysts — though realizing that potential would require further steps Iran has so far avoided (or been prevented from taking).

Oh by the way. Remember the other losers in World War 2 - the Japanese who were never suppose to militarize again.
Japan holds approximately 44.4 tonnes (44,400 kg) of separated plutonium as of the end of 2024.

aec.go.jp
I'd be more inclined to worry about the county (Japan) with no religious fatwa against making a nuclear bomb given their history.

If Iran wanted bombs, they have up to 10 of them already. Try follow MIT Professor Ted Postol who is, imho, a more trusted Expert.

While you're putting together you next propaganda piece, read these first.

Joe Kent reveals 18 US intel agencies agreed Iran had 'no capacity' to build nuclear weapon
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/joe-kent-reveals-18-us-intel-agencies-agreed-iran-had-no-capacity-to-build-nuclear-weapon/ar-AA1Z6Ej8
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/18/politics/joe-kent-iran-tucker-carlson
https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-news/iran-another-iraq-former-us-counterterrorism-chief-joe-kent-challenges-basis-of-us-israel-iran-strikes-article-153868800
https://www.military.com/daily-news/headlines/2026/03/19/kent-tells-carlson-no-intelligence-showed-iran-near-bomb.html

Edited May 10May 10 by connda

Outright lies and misinformation.

Trump has already told us the Iranian nuclear program has been completely obliterated.

Iran can and probably will get nukes from it's buddies Russia and NK just like Israel got theirs from the US. No need to make their own. Especially with the current idiot in the White House.

And how many nuclear warheads do China, Israel, Russia and the USA have?

2 hours ago, JimHuaHin said:

And how many nuclear warheads do China, Israel, Russia and the USA have?

It only takes 1... You think volume is a deterrent?

3 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Outright lies and misinformation.

Trump has already told us the Iranian nuclear program has been completely obliterated.

...and they are only two weeks away from "The Bomb"......for the last 40 years according to Netanyahu.

...."experts" @ propaganda = nonsense.

You will get two' weeks to hand it over or two' weeks more in two' weeks time give or take two' weeks of course, or pistol Pete' will turn your turbans to flat caps🤔

17 hours ago, connda said:

Oh by the way. Remember the other losers in World War 2 - the Japanese who were never suppose to militarize again.
Japan holds approximately 44.4 tonnes (44,400 kg) of separated plutonium as of the end of 2024.

There needs to be clarification here to cut through the bias and BS.

Japan's total separated plutonium, held domestically and abroad, was approximately 44.4 tonnes. About 8.6 tonnes within Japan, roughly 35.8 tonnes overseas: 21.7 tonnes in the UK, 14.1 tonnes in France. All reactor-grade, all a by-product of its civilian nuclear program, none of it purpose-built for weapons.

This is where comparisons matter, and where the "weapons conflation" starts looking deliberately misleading.

Japan has plutonium, a separate element created as a by-product of burning uranium fuel in a reactor, then chemically extracted through reprocessing. Iran has enriched uranium, the same element as natural uranium but with the fissile isotope U-235 concentrated through centrifuge spinning. Different materials, different processes, different proliferation pathways. Both monitored under IAEA safeguards.

The Fox News / Mirror framing of "Iran HAS enough plutonium for 200 bombs" is misleading shorthand. That plutonium is locked inside intensely radioactive spent fuel rods at Bushehr. Iran has no operational reprocessing facility to extract it, and building one would be detectable.

That's a legitimate long-term proliferation concern worth putting on the table in any deal, but it is not a usable stockpile. The headline implies a capability Iran doesn't currently possess.

Where Iran's situation was genuinely more alarming in the near-term was its enriched uranium stockpile, approximately 440 kg enriched to 60% U-235, a level with no practical civilian application. Weapons-grade is 90%+, but the gap from 60% to 90% is relatively small in centrifuge terms. Most of the separative work happens getting from natural uranium at 0.7% up through 20%, then from 20% to 60%. The final push to weapons-grade is comparatively quick.

Japan has no enrichment ladder to climb. Its plutonium doesn't need further processing. Plutonium is inherently weapons-usable at whatever grade it exists. The challenge for Japan would be weaponization: warhead design, precision machining, delivery systems. Not material preparation. It already sits on separated material.

Iran's challenge was the reverse. Enrichment infrastructure climbing toward weapons-grade, but no separated fissile material in a ready state - not yet - but they were clearly working towards it.

For the TLDR'ers....

• Iran was closer to a near-term breakout scenario, via its enriched uranium stockpile

• Japan holds vastly more weapons-usable separated material as a by-product of its civilian fuel cycle.

• Any headline screaming about Iran's plutonium is hyperbole. That material is locked in spent fuel rods Iran can't currently touch - the U235 enrichment is the issue.

https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/trump-threatens-iran-uranium-1796040

US President Donald Trump has sparked fresh international controversy after warning that the United States would 'blow up' anyone attempting to approach Iran's enriched uranium stockpile, as tensions over Tehran's nuclear programme continue escalating.

Trump also pointed out that the country is not prepared to fight the US since 'they have no anti-aircraft weaponry, no leaders.'