BICOM

UK Secretary of State for Defence, Liam Fox told the House of Commons yesterday that he disagreed with retired Mossad Chief Meir Dagan’s assessment that Iran would not be able to build a bomb before 2015 and said that Tehran could be capable of reaching nuclear weapon capability as early as next year. Fox added that Western powers should make estimations based on more pessimistic assessments of Iran’s capabilities. “We know from previous experience, not least from what happened in North Korea, that the international community can be caught out, assuming that things are more rosy than they are,” Fox said. “We should therefore be entirely clear. It is entirely possible that Iran may be on the 2012 end of that spectrum.”

The international community is concerned that Iran is developing its nuclear capability for weaponry, Tehran has constantly denied this claim saying their nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only. Recent nuclear talks between Iran and the international community in Istanbul failed to reach any compromise or outcome on the issue.