Western officials are concerned that Iran could use a “dirty bomb” in its war against Israel, which could lead to the United States directly entering the conflict, according to the Financial Times’ international affairs columnist
On Friday, Israel attacked Iran with a series of air strikes that killed senior military officials and hit nuclear and missile sites.
Israel said that was just the beginning, raising the risk of an all-out war between the two historic Middle East enemies.
Eles buscaram armas nucleares. Construíram mísseis balísticos de longo alcance. Prepararam-se para a nossa aniquilação.
? Monica Laredo (@MonicaLaredo2) June 17, 2025
Diante de uma ameaça existencial iminente – nós atacamos.
Nossa missão ainda não terminou.
Continuaremos a fazer o que for necessário. pic.twitter.com/esuAC9b1vK
In the days that followed, the two countries exchanged air strikes
Israeli and U.S. officials worry about how Iran’s leaders might react if they believe they are losing in a conventional military confrontation.
While Iran does not yet have the capability to build a full-scale nuclear bomb, it does have enough enriched uranium to cause major damage.
According to Financial Times columnist Gideon Rachman, Iran could try to demonstrate a rudimentary nuclear weapon to scare Israel into ending the war.
Another possibility would be to use a “dirty bomb,” which combines ordinary explosives with radioactive material, spreading radiation.
One worrying scenario would be for such a bomb to explode on a ship near the port of Haifa in Israel.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran has a large amount of uranium enriched to 60%.
To make a nuclear weapon, it would need to enrich the uranium to 90%, which could be done in a few days.
However, turning this material into a functional weapon would take longer.
Still, uranium enriched to 60% could be used to create a simple nuclear weapon that could be transported by planes, containers or trucks, showing the world that Iran has become a nuclear power.
Rachman also noted that some U.S. officials believe the United States could join a second phase of strikes to destroy the underground Fordow uranium enrichment plant and end Iran’s nuclear program.
To do so, Israel would need American bombs.
On the other hand, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has said that even the United States could not delay Iran’s nuclear program for more than a few months.
He believes that the only way to ensure that Iran never has a nuclear bomb would be for the United States and Israel to declare war on the Iranian regime until it is toppled.
Published in 06/17/2025 20h38
Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption.
Reference article:
| Geoprocessing Drone Systems HPC |
| ERP and CRM Systems Mobile Systems AI |