Iran could build a nuclear bomb in just TEN WEEKS as Butcher of Tehran takes power Israel warns

IRAN is just ten weeks away from having a nuclear bomb, Israel has warned as the country’s new hard line President takes office.

Ebrahim Raisi, known as the Butcher of Tehran from his days as a judge fond of dishing out brutal punishments, has been sworn in as the Islamic Republic’s new leader.

Ebrahim Raisi addressing Iran's parliament as he was sworn in as PresidentCredit: Polaris Iran has been suspected of seeking nuclear warheads and has been developing missiles to carry themCredit: AP

The 60-year-old hardliner allegedly ordered the torture of pregnant women, had prisoners thrown off cliffs, had people flogged with electric cords, and has overseen countless other brutal acts of violence.

As he took office, Israel’s defence minister Benny Gantz warned that Iran “about ten weeks away” from acquiring the materials for a warhead.

“Now is the time for deeds - words are not enough,” he told the news website Ynet.

“It is time for diplomatic, economic, and even military deeds, otherwise the attacks will continue.”

Iran’s nuclear programme has long been feared to be a front for acquiring weapons.”

Asked whether Israel was ready to strike in Iran if need be, Gantz simply responded: “Yes.”

Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said his government was “working on enlisting the world” in response to the attack, but warned “we also know how to act alone.”

BRUTAL PUNISHMENTS

“The Iranians need to understand that it is impossible to sit peacefully in Tehran and, from there, ignite the entire Middle East. That is over,” Bennett said.

Ender a 2015 deal, the country agreed to greed to limit uranium enrichment â€" a key process in building nuclear weapons - to 3.67 per cent in return for easing sanctions

Donald Trump tore up the deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in 2018.

In June, the UN's nuclear watchdog warned Iran enriching enough uranium to make nuclear bombs.

But speak speaking at the Majlis, Iran’s parliament, Raisi insisted that the nuclear programme was “completely peaceful”.

Now is the time for deeds â€" words are not enough

Benny Gantz

He insisted that “foreign pressure and sanctions will not cause the nation of Iran to back down from following up on its legal rights”.

With Raisi's presidency, all branches of power in Iran will be controlled by anti-Western hardliners loyal to its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Like Khamenei, he has endorsed the nuclear talks, but he is widely expected to adopt a tougher line in talks that have stalled. 

It comes as a tanker reportedly hijacked by alleged Iranian commandos was ordered to “sail to Tehran” â€" days after a suspected drone attack killed a British security guard.  

A nine-strong armed group clambered aboard the Asphalt Princess in what Royal Navy monitors slammed as a “potential hijacking”.

The armed gang reportedly stormed the ship on Tuesday close to the Strait of Hormuz - a waterway where around a fifth of the world's oil is transported.

NINTCHDBPICT000623381712Credit: EPA
Deal or no deal - What was the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement and what has happened to it?

IRAN is feared to be secretly building a nuclear bomb by hiding the machinery needed to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels, a new report reveals.

However, Donald Trump withdrew the US from the deal - branding it "horrible" and "one-sided".

Iran has also pledged to breach the agreement until it receives the sanctions relief it says it is owed.

The deal was an agreement between the Islamic Republic and a group of world powers aimed at scrapping the Middle Eastern country's nuclear weapons programme.

It saw Iran agree to eliminate its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium by 98 per cent.

Enriched uranium is a critical component for making nuclear weapons and in nuclear power stations and by curbing the amount Iran produce is a way to curb the number of weapons produced.

As part of the agreement, Iran also agreed to only enrich their uranium up to 3.67 per cent over the next 15 years and they agreed to reduce their gas centrifuges for 13 years.

Gas centrifuges are used to separate different types of uranium which allows specific types to then be used to manufacture nuclear weapons or generators.

Iranian nuclear facilities were limited to a single facility with only first-generation centrifuges for 10 years and other nuclear facilities had to be converted into other use.

In addition, they were barred from building any more heavy-water faculties - a type of nuclear reactor which uses heavy water (deuterium oxide) as a coolant to maintain temperatures in the reactor.

Also under the agreement, the International Atomic Energy Agency was granted regular access to all Iranian nuclear facilities to ensure Iran maintains the deal.

If Iran abided by the deal it was promised relief from the US, European Union, and the United Nations Security Council on all nuclear-related economic sanctions.

The agreement was reached on July 14, 2015, and the world powers signed it in Vienna.

Minister calls Iran 'totally unacceptable' after drone attack on tanker that killed Brit crewman

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