IAEA Report: Iran Doubled Number of Centrifuges between May and August

While the new equipment is not believed to be on-line yet, the report attests to the rapid pace at which the Iranians are pursuing development of its nuclear capabilities. Observers suggest the new information could be an important factor to those deciding whether or not Israel will launch a unilateral strike or even serve to convince American security planners that the window of opportunity in which the Iranian nuclear program can be stopped is shorter than previously believed.

The new report closely follows an American National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) that supported the assessment of Israeli intelligence that has Iran closer to its nuclear goals than US sources had previously believed. On Saturday, Israel’s Minister of Intelligence Agencies Dan Meridor told television interviewers that Jerusalem and Washington are on the same page in their assessments that it will require 18 months to two years for Iran to go on-line with a nuclear weapon from the time it makes the political decision to build one. But the two governments apparently remain at odds over the tipping point: the Israelis believing Iran cannot be allowed to possess all necessary pieces while the US believes there is time to act once the pieces are in-hand and the decision to assemble a bomb has been made. Meanwhile, word that the US is scaling back its participation in a yearly joint military exercise with Israel has triggered intense debate over whether the decision was a pay-back for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s warm embrace of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney last month. Some are criticizing the move on a strategic level, arguing it sends a message of disunity to the Iranians.