Iran’s nuclear programme has made big strides in recent months and the country is on course to pass an important threshold for nuclear weapons capability next year, scientists and analysts say.

Ever since Iran started enriching uranium in defiance of United Nations resolutions, western diplomats have highlighted the technological obstacles facing the country, arguing that they provided time to deal with the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

But several leading experts say that Iran is now twice as effective in enriching uranium than before, based on a report this week by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog. ... Read full article