Netanyahu: Iran Still Hasn’t Crossed ‘Red Line’

Insists They Might at Some Point in the Future

In comments today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Iran still hasn’t crossed the “red line” he set for them last year, conceding that Iran is falling short of his “benchmark.”

The “red line” was supposed to be a justification for war, and the point at which Iran has enough 20 percent enriched uranium that, assuming hypothetical additional enrichment, they could maybe create a single atomic bomb.

Since that time Iran has continued to produce 20 percent enriched uranium, but has continued to use it as well, as fuel in the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR), which produces medical isotopes. Though there no longer appears to be a good estimate of “when,” Netanyahu insists he remains confident Iran will eventually cross the line.

This is starkly different from comments made only yesterday by Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz, who claimed Iran had the capability of making 20-30 nuclear weapons per year. In spite of this hysteria, Iran hasn’t made a single nuclear weapon, nor is there any indication they are anywhere near attempting to do so.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.