Netanyahu: Iran’s New Centrifuges Near ‘Red Line’

Demands More Sanctions Despite Iran's Continued Use of Uranium for Civilian Purposes

by Jason Ditz, February 11, 2013

In what has become virtually a weekly attempt to spin a war with Iran as getting closer, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited Iran’s development of improved centrifuges for uranium enrichment as proof that Iran is nearing the “red line” he has established for them.

Netanyahu established the artificial “red line” last year, under which he believes a global war against Iran should immediately be launched if the nation has enough low-enriched uranium in its civilian program that, if hypothetically enriched to weapons grade, it might conceivably be enough for one small atomic bomb.

Since the new centrifuges are more efficient than the aging ones they replaced, they enrich uranium faster, and would conceivably grow Iran’s stockpile faster. At the same time, the stockpile continues to be used for civilian purposes, something Netanyahu seems eager to gloss over, so repeated predictions of crossing this “red line” haven’t panned out.

Despite this, Netanyahu insisted the new centrifuges justified “harsher sanctions” as well as more threats to attack Iran. Under its safeguards agreement with the IAEA Iran has every right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes, and the IAEA has continued to verify the non-diversion of this uranium to any other purpose.

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