The Islamic Republic is expediting its nuclear weapons efforts, stoking fears that the illicit program may hasten the time that the regime will come into possession of a working device.
Three anonymous sources told Iran International that Tehran is completing a reorganization of the country’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND) to speed up its endeavor in becoming the next state to possess a nuclear arsenal.
The news outlet reported that the restructuring will involve ongoing enriched uranium production, continued missile development research, and a resumption of tests on warhead detonation instruments.
Earlier this year, the SPND was removed from the ministry of defense and placed under the direct supervision of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The detonators are one of the three essential components of a nuclear weapon that include enriched uranium and an adequate delivery system.
This year, multiple reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency have concluded that the regime has sufficient fissile materials to produce at least seven nuclear bombs. Additionally, in January, they successfully launched a solid-fuel, three-stage Qaem-100 rocket into orbit, presenting it as a scientific mission.
The detonator initiative is alleged by Iran International to be overseen by an explosives and metallurgy expert named Saeed Borji, who conducts his operations at a front company.
The allegations come as the United States Office of the Director of National Intelligence acknowledged this month that the repressive theocracy has "expanded its nuclear program, reduced International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitoring, and undertaken activities that better position it to produce a nuclear device, if it chooses to do so."
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