Iranians speak of their fears and hopes as the conflict with Israel intensifies
Traffic was gridlocked for hundreds of kilometres heading out of Tehran before Israel and Donald Trump told people to leave Iran's capital.
People were desperate and scared.
"It's complete chaos. There's no safe place left in Iran right now," Tehran local Pari said.
"We first tried heading north, but the roads were completely jammed. People were out of their cars, drinking tea, smoking. It was just gridlock — about 180 to 200 kilometres of traffic stuck across four lanes."
Many Iranians have tried to move to the country's north for safety, but Pari was not sure if that would work.
"The bread that costs 500 tomans ($0.018) here, it's 15,000 tomans ($0.55) over there and that was on the first day. Just imagine what it's like now … there'd be nothing left to buy, and there's no room left at all to stay," she said.
The traffic forced Pari to return home to Tehran on Monday night, but she vowed to try again on Tuesday despite the internet being down and a limit of 20 litres of petrol being imposed per customer.
"We're gathering some essential items, identification documents, clothes, bedding, so wherever we go, we at least have the minimum," she said.
The usually bustling city she and so many others were trying to leave became eerily quiet after Israel started attacking it.
The Grand Bazaar was shuttered, shops were closed and the streets were left almost empty.
Many of the city's 9.5 million residents have either left the city or taken shelter indoors.
Locals remained in a state of shock.
Tehran resident Hanna, who like others who spoke to the ABC did not want her full name published for fear of reprisal from Iranian authorities, recounted being at home when the Israeli bombs started falling last week.
"I heard the blasts around 3am," she said.
"At first, I thought it was fireworks. Then my phone started ringing, friends panicking, sending pictures of fires and missile strikes. We were all up until 6 or 7 in the morning, too anxious to sleep.
Mohammad, who lives in the western city of Ahvaz near the border with Iraq, said the aftermath of Israel's attack last week was unlike anything he had seen before.
"The strikes were intense. Windows shook across the city," he said.
"There's real worry now."
The Israeli strikes that shook Iran, targeting multiple military and intelligence facilities across the country, have killed at least 244 people and injured 1,200, including many civilians, according to Iranian authorities.
"[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu had claimed they stood with the Iranian people and only targeted military facilities. But in the early hours of the attack, they struck residential buildings," Ali, a resident of Iran's western Khuzestan province, said on Monday.
"Many of those killed were civilians, scientists, respected professors, people who had risen in their fields.
"They were at home, asleep with their families, when the buildings were hit. Entire families were wiped out. Among the dead were women and children."
But Israel's assault has also ignited a cautious hope among some Iranians.
They feel the Islamic Republic's grip on power could be weakening — and that the collapse of the regime might be near.
News media is controlled by the government and internet has been slowed, or completely shut down in some parts of the country, since the conflict with Israel broke out.
In Tehran, Mehdi said the mood was "a mix of fear and joy".
"Yes, some fear losing their jobs. Some packed their bags. But deep down, there's happiness, especially after hearing those 20 senior commanders were killed," he said.
"The top figures were struck in their penthouses. There's real joy in the poorest neighbourhoods.
"For 40 years, they've held us hostage. They stole our youth, our lives," he said.
"During the Mahsa Amini protests, and those killed in Iraq and in Syria — so many children were killed. So many young people in Iran were killed."
Speaking from the city of Isfahan in central Iran, Hassan offered a colder assessment on Sunday.
"Life goes on. The fruit shops are open. But people now understand something important — this regime's drum was loud but hollow," he said.
"They crushed protesters with guns and batons, but now we see their power was only ever used against defenceless Iranians. When it comes to a real threat, they collapse."
Israel has launched strikes against population centres across Iran — from Tehran in the north to Shiraz in the south-west.
In retaliation, Iran fired a barrage of missiles and drones toward Israel that have killed 24 people.
For Ali, the Islamic Republic's military response was justified.
"Iran wasn't just watching. It responded carefully and intelligently. No one wants war, but when Israel crosses the line of humanity, silence is betrayal," he said.
"We're not celebrating war. We're talking about the right to defend our homes."
Yet, as the conflict escalates, many Iranians are distancing themselves from the actions of the regime.
Hassan said the Iranian government had "been at war with its own people for decades".
"Now it needs this cross-border missile show just to try and rally some part of the population behind it," he said.
"I see no reason why my country, which doesn't share a single inch of border with Israel, should be at war with them. There is simply no reason."
US President Donald Trump posted on social media on Tuesday, local time, that the US knew where Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was.
"He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don't want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers," Mr Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social.
"Our patience is wearing thin."
He also called for an "unconditional surrender".
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on X that the US "may" take further action against Iran, but added it was a matter for Mr Trump to decide.
Iranians were already resigned to fear and uncertainty before the latest updates from Washington DC.
"It's still war and we're the ones who suffer," Hanna said.
"It doesn't matter who wins. It's always the ordinary people who pay the high price through panic and pain."
Others hoped the pain would lead to great change.
"This conflict feels different from anything in the past 40 years," Mehdi said.
"It feels like the beginning of the end. But we worry about the cost. We want the regime to fall, but not through war.
"We want liberation, not destruction."
As the world waits to see what happens next, Hassan said he would not mourn if the regime fell.
"This is not our war, but maybe, just maybe, it will end our captivity," he said.
Translation assistance from Kaveh Akbari.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
39 minutes ago
- ABC News
Israel warns of 'prolonged' war with Iran, as Tehran targets Tel Aviv and Haifa
Israel's war against Iran will be "prolonged", military chief Eyal Zamir has said, as the arch rivals traded fire and European powers held talks with the Islamic republic. "We must be ready for a prolonged campaign," Mr Zamir told Israelis in a video statement, eight days after his country launched a massive wave of strikes it said aimed at stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons -- an ambition Tehran has denied. "We have embarked on the most complex campaign in our history to remove a threat of such magnitude," said Mr Zamir. "The campaign is not over. Although we have made significant achievements, difficult days still lie ahead." Iran has responded with barrages of missiles and drones, which Israeli authorities say have killed at least 25 people. A hospital in the Israeli port city of Haifa reported 19 injured, including one person in a serious condition, after the latest Iranian salvo, which President Isaac Herzog said hit a mosque. Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people since June 13, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. As US President Donald Trump mulls the prospect of entering the war between the two foes, top diplomats from Britain, France and Germany were meeting with their Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi on Friday. French President Emmanuel Macron said the Europeans were "putting a diplomatic solution on the table". On the ground, Israel's military said it struck missile launchers in southwestern Iran after overnight air raids on dozens of targets including what it called a "nuclear weapons project" research and development centre. In Israel, sirens sounded in the afternoon after missiles were launched from Iran for the second time on Friday, with a military official saying that "approximately 20 missiles were launched towards Israel". Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted military sites and air forces bases. Mr Trump has said he will decide "within the next two weeks" whether to involve the United States in the fighting. Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy said "a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution", while agreeing with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that "Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon". Western governments suspect Iran of seeking a nuclear weapons capability. The International Atomic Energy Agency said that while Iran was the only country without nuclear weapons to enrich uranium to 60 per cent, there was no evidence it had all the components to make a functioning nuclear warhead. "So, saying how long it would take for them, it would be pure speculation because we do not know whether there was somebody ... secretly pursuing these activities," the agency's chief Rafael Grossi told CNN. "We haven't seen that and we have to say it." France's foreign ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine said that "military solutions are not long-term solutions" to ensure Iran respects its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Addressing the UN Human Rights Council on Friday, Mr Araghchi said Israel's attacks were a "betrayal" of diplomatic efforts to reach a nuclear deal between Tehran and Washington. "We were attacked in the midst of an ongoing diplomatic process," he said. In an interview with German publication Bild, Israel's top diplomat Gideon Saar said he did not "particularly" believe in diplomacy with Iran. "All diplomatic efforts so far have failed," said Mr Saar, whose country had supported Trump's 2018 decision to abandon a previous nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers. The UN Security Council convened on Friday for a second session on the conflict, which was requested by Iran with support from Russia, China and Pakistan, a diplomat told AFP on Wednesday. The escalating confrontation is quickly reaching "the point of no return", Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Friday, saying "this madness must end as soon as possible". UN chief Antonio Guterres meanwhile pleaded with all sides to "give peace a chance". Any US involvement in Israel's campaign would be expected to involve the bombing of an underground uranium enrichment facility in Fordo, using powerful bunker-busting bombs that no other country possesses. In Iran, people fleeing Israel's attacks described frightening scenes and difficult living conditions, including food shortages. Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said authorities had restricted internet access to avoid "problems" like cyberattacks. Iranian authorities have arrested a European "who sought to spy on sensitive areas of the country", Tasnim news agency reported on Friday. Protests were held in Tehran and other cities after Friday prayers, with demonstrators chanting slogans in support of their leaders, state television showed. "I will sacrifice my life for my leader," read a protester's banner, a reference to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Switzerland announced it was temporarily closing its embassy in Tehran, adding that it would continue to fulfil its role representing US interests in Iran. AFP/ABC
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Wall St edges up,Trump's Mideast decision in focus
Wall Street's main indexes have nudged higher, tracking strength in global stocks after President Donald Trump held off from making an immediate decision on US involvement in the Israel-Iran war. Trump will take a call in the next two weeks, the White House said on Thursday, as hostilities between the two Middle Eastern countries approached their second week. Markets have been on edge as Trump has kept the world guessing on his plans - veering from proposing a swift diplomatic solution to suggesting the US might join the fight as Israel aims to suppress Tehran's ability to build nuclear weapons. A senior Iranian official told Reuters Tehran was ready to discuss limitations on its uranium enrichment, but zero enrichment will be rejected "especially now under Israel's strikes". Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has arrived in Geneva to meet European counterparts, who are hoping to establish a path back to diplomacy. "Any news flow that's going to lean in the direction of de-escalation is going to be a market positive and we're seeing that to a certain extent here," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. Concerns about price pressures in the US were also in focus after Federal Reserve policymakers on Wednesday warned inflation could pick up pace over the summer as the economic effects of Trump's steep import tariffs kick in. They kept interest rates unchanged. On Friday, Fed governor Chris Waller said the central bank should consider cutting interest rates at its next meeting given recent tame inflation data and because any price shock from tariffs will be short-lived. In early trading on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 123.38 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 42,295.04, the S&P 500 gained 13.34 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 5,994.21 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 38.74 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 19,585.01. Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors rose. Real estate led sector gains with a 0.7 per cent rise. On the flip side, healthcare stocks lost 0.5 per cent. All three main indexes are set for weekly gains. Investors are also bracing for any potential spike in volatility from Friday's "triple witching" - the simultaneous expiration of single stock options, stock index futures, and stock index options contracts that happens once a quarter. Among megacap stocks, Apple advanced 1.3 per cent. Kroger rose 6.4 per cent after the grocery chain increased its annual identical sales forecast. Mondelez International gained 2.4 per cent after brokerage Wells Fargo upgraded the Cadbury parent to "overweight" from "equal-weight". Accenture fell 7.2 per cent after the IT services provider said new bookings decreased in the third quarter. Wall Street's strong gains last month, primarily driven by a softening in Trump's trade stance and strength in corporate earnings, had pushed the benchmark S&P 500 index close to its record peaks before the ongoing conflict in the Middle East made investors risk-averse. The S&P 500 index now remains 2.4 per cent below its record level, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is 2.8 per cent lower. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.16-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.45-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 55 new highs and 31 new lows. Wall Street's main indexes have nudged higher, tracking strength in global stocks after President Donald Trump held off from making an immediate decision on US involvement in the Israel-Iran war. Trump will take a call in the next two weeks, the White House said on Thursday, as hostilities between the two Middle Eastern countries approached their second week. Markets have been on edge as Trump has kept the world guessing on his plans - veering from proposing a swift diplomatic solution to suggesting the US might join the fight as Israel aims to suppress Tehran's ability to build nuclear weapons. A senior Iranian official told Reuters Tehran was ready to discuss limitations on its uranium enrichment, but zero enrichment will be rejected "especially now under Israel's strikes". Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has arrived in Geneva to meet European counterparts, who are hoping to establish a path back to diplomacy. "Any news flow that's going to lean in the direction of de-escalation is going to be a market positive and we're seeing that to a certain extent here," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. Concerns about price pressures in the US were also in focus after Federal Reserve policymakers on Wednesday warned inflation could pick up pace over the summer as the economic effects of Trump's steep import tariffs kick in. They kept interest rates unchanged. On Friday, Fed governor Chris Waller said the central bank should consider cutting interest rates at its next meeting given recent tame inflation data and because any price shock from tariffs will be short-lived. In early trading on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 123.38 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 42,295.04, the S&P 500 gained 13.34 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 5,994.21 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 38.74 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 19,585.01. Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors rose. Real estate led sector gains with a 0.7 per cent rise. On the flip side, healthcare stocks lost 0.5 per cent. All three main indexes are set for weekly gains. Investors are also bracing for any potential spike in volatility from Friday's "triple witching" - the simultaneous expiration of single stock options, stock index futures, and stock index options contracts that happens once a quarter. Among megacap stocks, Apple advanced 1.3 per cent. Kroger rose 6.4 per cent after the grocery chain increased its annual identical sales forecast. Mondelez International gained 2.4 per cent after brokerage Wells Fargo upgraded the Cadbury parent to "overweight" from "equal-weight". Accenture fell 7.2 per cent after the IT services provider said new bookings decreased in the third quarter. Wall Street's strong gains last month, primarily driven by a softening in Trump's trade stance and strength in corporate earnings, had pushed the benchmark S&P 500 index close to its record peaks before the ongoing conflict in the Middle East made investors risk-averse. The S&P 500 index now remains 2.4 per cent below its record level, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is 2.8 per cent lower. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.16-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.45-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 55 new highs and 31 new lows. Wall Street's main indexes have nudged higher, tracking strength in global stocks after President Donald Trump held off from making an immediate decision on US involvement in the Israel-Iran war. Trump will take a call in the next two weeks, the White House said on Thursday, as hostilities between the two Middle Eastern countries approached their second week. Markets have been on edge as Trump has kept the world guessing on his plans - veering from proposing a swift diplomatic solution to suggesting the US might join the fight as Israel aims to suppress Tehran's ability to build nuclear weapons. A senior Iranian official told Reuters Tehran was ready to discuss limitations on its uranium enrichment, but zero enrichment will be rejected "especially now under Israel's strikes". Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has arrived in Geneva to meet European counterparts, who are hoping to establish a path back to diplomacy. "Any news flow that's going to lean in the direction of de-escalation is going to be a market positive and we're seeing that to a certain extent here," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. Concerns about price pressures in the US were also in focus after Federal Reserve policymakers on Wednesday warned inflation could pick up pace over the summer as the economic effects of Trump's steep import tariffs kick in. They kept interest rates unchanged. On Friday, Fed governor Chris Waller said the central bank should consider cutting interest rates at its next meeting given recent tame inflation data and because any price shock from tariffs will be short-lived. In early trading on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 123.38 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 42,295.04, the S&P 500 gained 13.34 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 5,994.21 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 38.74 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 19,585.01. Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors rose. Real estate led sector gains with a 0.7 per cent rise. On the flip side, healthcare stocks lost 0.5 per cent. All three main indexes are set for weekly gains. Investors are also bracing for any potential spike in volatility from Friday's "triple witching" - the simultaneous expiration of single stock options, stock index futures, and stock index options contracts that happens once a quarter. Among megacap stocks, Apple advanced 1.3 per cent. Kroger rose 6.4 per cent after the grocery chain increased its annual identical sales forecast. Mondelez International gained 2.4 per cent after brokerage Wells Fargo upgraded the Cadbury parent to "overweight" from "equal-weight". Accenture fell 7.2 per cent after the IT services provider said new bookings decreased in the third quarter. Wall Street's strong gains last month, primarily driven by a softening in Trump's trade stance and strength in corporate earnings, had pushed the benchmark S&P 500 index close to its record peaks before the ongoing conflict in the Middle East made investors risk-averse. The S&P 500 index now remains 2.4 per cent below its record level, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is 2.8 per cent lower. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.16-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.45-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 55 new highs and 31 new lows. Wall Street's main indexes have nudged higher, tracking strength in global stocks after President Donald Trump held off from making an immediate decision on US involvement in the Israel-Iran war. Trump will take a call in the next two weeks, the White House said on Thursday, as hostilities between the two Middle Eastern countries approached their second week. Markets have been on edge as Trump has kept the world guessing on his plans - veering from proposing a swift diplomatic solution to suggesting the US might join the fight as Israel aims to suppress Tehran's ability to build nuclear weapons. A senior Iranian official told Reuters Tehran was ready to discuss limitations on its uranium enrichment, but zero enrichment will be rejected "especially now under Israel's strikes". Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has arrived in Geneva to meet European counterparts, who are hoping to establish a path back to diplomacy. "Any news flow that's going to lean in the direction of de-escalation is going to be a market positive and we're seeing that to a certain extent here," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. Concerns about price pressures in the US were also in focus after Federal Reserve policymakers on Wednesday warned inflation could pick up pace over the summer as the economic effects of Trump's steep import tariffs kick in. They kept interest rates unchanged. On Friday, Fed governor Chris Waller said the central bank should consider cutting interest rates at its next meeting given recent tame inflation data and because any price shock from tariffs will be short-lived. In early trading on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 123.38 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 42,295.04, the S&P 500 gained 13.34 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 5,994.21 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 38.74 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 19,585.01. Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors rose. Real estate led sector gains with a 0.7 per cent rise. On the flip side, healthcare stocks lost 0.5 per cent. All three main indexes are set for weekly gains. Investors are also bracing for any potential spike in volatility from Friday's "triple witching" - the simultaneous expiration of single stock options, stock index futures, and stock index options contracts that happens once a quarter. Among megacap stocks, Apple advanced 1.3 per cent. Kroger rose 6.4 per cent after the grocery chain increased its annual identical sales forecast. Mondelez International gained 2.4 per cent after brokerage Wells Fargo upgraded the Cadbury parent to "overweight" from "equal-weight". Accenture fell 7.2 per cent after the IT services provider said new bookings decreased in the third quarter. Wall Street's strong gains last month, primarily driven by a softening in Trump's trade stance and strength in corporate earnings, had pushed the benchmark S&P 500 index close to its record peaks before the ongoing conflict in the Middle East made investors risk-averse. The S&P 500 index now remains 2.4 per cent below its record level, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is 2.8 per cent lower. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.16-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.45-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 55 new highs and 31 new lows.
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Iran's nuclear programme: from its origins to today's dispute
A week ago, Israel launched an unprecedented attack against Iran, saying the country was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon, a claim Tehran has always denied. Western powers have repeatedly expressed concerns about the rapid expansion of Iran's nuclear programme, questioning in particular the country's accelerated uranium enrichment. The following is a recap of the main developments regarding Iran's nuclear programme, as European foreign ministers are holding nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart in Switzerland on Friday. - 'Structured programme' - Iran laid the foundation for its nuclear programme in the late 1950s with technical assistance from the United States, when Iran's ruling shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with the US. In 1970, Iran ratified the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), committing it to declare its nuclear material to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). But revelations in the early 2000s about undeclared nuclear sites raised concerns. An 2011 IAEA report, collating "broadly credible" intelligence, said that at least until 2003 Iran "carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device". - Historic accord left in tatters - After suspending enrichment activities, Iran began talks with European and then international powers that would later culminate in a historic deal. On July 14, 2015, Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany reached an accord in Vienna. The deal, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), placed significant restrictions on Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief after 12 years of crisis and 21 months of protracted negotiations. But the hard-won deal began to unravel when the US under President Donald Trump walked away from it on May 8, 2018, and reimposed sanctions on Iran. - 'Nuclear escalation' - Following the US withdrawal, Iran retaliated by stepping up its nuclear activities as if "a red cape had been waved in front of a bull," said Clement Therme, associate researcher at the Rasanah International Institute for Iranian Studies. According to Therme, Iran "embarked on a strategy of escalation" in a bid to up pressure and obtain help to circumvent sanctions. But Tehran's moves were unsuccessful and came at an "exorbitant economic cost". Iran first began enriching uranium to five percent -- breaching the limit of 3.67 percent imposed by the deal -- before it raised the enrichment levels to 20 and then to 60 percent in 2021, which is a short step from the 90 percent required for use in a weapon. Iran has also increased its stockpiles of enriched uranium, which was set at 202.8 kilogrammes under the deal. Iran's total enriched uranium stockpile is currently believed to be more than 45 times that limit. And Tehran has since exceeded the number of centrifuges -- the machines used to enrich uranium -- it is allowed to have while beginning to produce more material faster by using advanced models at its plants. Efforts to revive the deal have been fruitless so far, with European-led talks on hold since summer 2022. After Trump's return to the White House, talks between Washington and Iran and mediated by Oman resumed in April. While the US president has voiced confidence that Iran would eventually sign a nuclear deal, Tehran has said that Israeli strikes that targeted a slew of military and nuclear sites "dealt a blow" to diplomacy. - 'No indication' - Faced with Iran's rapidly expanding nuclear programme, the IAEA expressed "serious concern" in its latest quarterly report at the end of May. According to the UN agency, Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state to enrich uranium to 60 percent. It theoretically has enough near-weapons-grade material, if further refined, for more than nine bombs. However, the manufacturing and delivering of a nuclear bomb requires many other steps, including mastering both ballistics and the miniaturisation of the nuclear charge. The IAEA has said it currently has "no indication" of the existence of a "systematic programme" in Iran to produce a nuclear weapon. US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified to a Senate committee in March that Iran was not actively building a nuclear bomb. Iran has always denied having such ambitions, regularly referring to a long-standing fatwa, or religious edict, by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prohibiting atomic weapons. bur-anb/kym/gv
