How Many Nuclear Bombs Does Iran Have Today?
Physics, Engineering, and the Gap Between Reality and Headlines
From the essay
Public discussion of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile often blurs the boundary between nuclear physics, nuclear engineering, and media imagination. Headlines frequently suggest that enriched uranium automatically translates into an arsenal of ready nuclear weapons or easily constructed “dirty bombs.” Neither claim reflects technical reality. Highly enriched uranium (HEU), even when enriched to 60% U235, does not by itself constitute a nuclear weapon, nor is it suitable material for radiological dispersal devices.
Adapted from PDF pages 1.