Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The administration of President Barack Obama has played down the prospect of an Iranian nuclear breakout.

Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged that Iran required two months to complete the assembly of its first nuclear weapon.

But in testimony to Congress, Kerry said Iran might race toward a nuclear weapon without a warhead of delivery system.

“It’s just having one bomb’s worth, conceivably, of material, without any necessary capacity to put this in, to deliver,” Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 8.

Kerry did not raise the prospect that Iran was secretly building nuclear weapons despite its agreement with the P5+1 nations in November 2013. Over the last month, the U.S. intelligence community told Congress that the Geneva accord has not slowed down Teheran’s nuclear program.

But Kerry said Washington and its allies were trying to delay Iranian nuclear development in current negotiations. He suggested that any extension was important.

“We’re operating with a time period of a so-called breakout of two
months,” Kerry said. “So, six months to 12 months — I’m not saying that’s
what we’d settle for — but even that is significantly more.”

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Sen. Robert Menendez played
down any agreement that would enable Iran to continue uranium enrichment.
Menendez has urged greater U.S. pressure on Iran.

“A deal that would ultimately unravel the entire sanctions regime for a
six- to twelve-month lead time is not far from where we are today,” Menendez
said.

Kerry was careful not to characterize the current technical talks
between P5+1 and Teheran. The secretary also played down plans by Congress
to intensify sanctions on Iran.

“If they [Iran] make a decision to break out, sanctions aren’t going to
be what makes this difference,” Kerry said. “If they’re overtly breaking
out, they’ve made a huge consequential decision. And the greater likelihood
is that we are going to respond immediately.”

  John Kerry, Kerry: Obama administration unconcerned at prospect of Iran breakoutKerry: Obama administration unconcerned at prospect of Iran breakout, P5+1 agreement, Sen. Robert Menendez, Senate Foreign Relations Committee