Note also that the symbol [...] probably indicates a break in the interview or something left out.
IAEA Chief ElBaradei: Iran Can Produce Enough Enriched Uranium for a Nuclear Bomb in Six Months to a Year
The following are excerpts from an interview with IAEA director-general Mohamed ElBaradei. The interview aired on Al-Arabiya TV on June 20, 2008.
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1797.htm.
If It Wants To Produce Nuclear Weapons, Iran Would Have To "Leave The NPT, Expel The IAEA Inspectors, And... It Would Need At Least Six Months to One Year"
Mohamed ElBaradei: "If Iran wants to turn to the production of nuclear weapons, it must leave the NPT, expel the IAEA inspectors, and then it would need at least... Considering the number of centrifuges and the quantity of uranium Iran has..."
Interviewer: "How much time would it need?"
ElBaradei: "It would need at least six months to one year. Therefore, Iran will not be able to reach the point where we would wake up one morning to an Iran with a nuclear weapon."
Interviewer: "Excuse me, I would like to clarify this for our viewers. If Iran decides today to expel the IAEA from the country, it will need six months..."
ElBaradei: "Or one year, at least..."
Interviewer:"... to produce [nuclear] weapons?"
ElBaradei: "It would need this period to produce a weapon, and to obtain highly-enriched uranium in sufficient quantities for a single nuclear weapon." [...]
"A Military Strike [Against Iran] Would Be the Worst Thing Possible"
"In my view, a military strike would be the worst thing possible. It would turn the Middle East into a ball of fire."
