Moscow: Iran is capable of making a nuclear bomb no matter what sanctions may be applied to it, a senior researcher of the International Security Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences' World Economy and International Relations Institute said.
"Iran is a self-sufficient country. If it decides to make a nuclear bomb, it will do that all right, sanctions or no sanctions," Vladimir Yevseyev said on the Ekho Moskvy radio.
Uranium enriched to at least 80 per cent is necessary for making a bomb and Iran can do that within one year, he said.
At the same time, Iran cannot keep its actions secret until it breaks off relations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yevseyev said.
The nuclear program is a point of honour for Iran, so the Iranian administration may do that (stop the relations with the IAEA), he noted.
The stopping of sea shipment insurance will be the most efficient economic measure against Iran, because its main revenues come from crude shipped by the sea, the expert said.
The Iranian decision to start higher-enriched uranium production makes more profound the doubts about Tehran sincerity in the nuclear program, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said earlier in the day.
"The Iranian decision to start higher-enriched uranium production not only disagrees with UNSC resolutions and the IAEA Board of Governors but also deepens doubts about the Iranian sincere wish to lift the remaining international concerns about its nuclear program," the diplomat said.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, February 11, 2010, 13:10