The possibility of Iran resorting to a dirty bomb in its war with Israel worries Western officials and could result in the U.S. directly joining the conflict, according to Financial Times' chief foreign affairs columnist.
Israel attacked Iran early Friday with a barrage of airstrikes that took out top military officers and hit nuclear and missile sites, calling it just the beginning and raising the potential for an all-out war between the two bitter Middle East adversaries.
In the days since, the two sides have exchanged air strikes.
Israeli and U.S. officials now fear how the Iranian leaders might act if they believe they're headed toward defeat in a conventional conflict. Although not yet able to build a nuclear bomb, Iran has enriched uranium enough to inflict devastating damage.
"Iran could choose to demonstrate a crude nuclear weapon to try to shock Israel into ending the war," Financial Times' Gideon Rachman wrote in a Tuesday opinion column.
"Another possibility is that it could actually set off a 'dirty bomb' — which uses conventional explosives to scatter radioactive material. The kind of scenario that experts worry about would be the use of a ship to detonate a device near the Israeli port of Haifa."
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran has a considerable stockpile of uranium that is enriched to 60%.
Rachman wrote that although it's generally believed Tehran would need to get to 90% enrichment to manufacture a nuclear weapon — something that could be done within days — weaponization would take much longer.
However, 60% enrichment could be used to make a crude nuclear weapon.
"That kind of weapon would be suitable for 'delivery by a crude delivery system such as an aircraft, shipping container, or truck, sufficient to establish Iran as a nuclear power,'" wrote Rachman, who added that some U.S. officials believe America will join a second stage of the bombing campaign in an effort to destroy the underground Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant and finish off Iran's nuclear weapons program.
Israel would need U.S. bombs to complete that job.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, though, said even the U.S. "cannot delay Iran's arrival at nuclear weapons by more than a few months."
He added that the only way to guarantee Iran never acquires a nuclear bomb is for the U.S. and Israel "to declare war against the regime itself until it is brought down."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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