Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, the lead Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Newsmax that Iran could develop a nuclear bomb within a year.
"The situation is getting very intense," he said Wednesday on "The Record" with Greta Van Susteren.
"I've been in the classified space a lot lately," he said. "I also went to Vienna, met with the general director of the IAEA, that's the international atomic energy agency. They found uranium particles and three undisclosed locations, which shows that Iran is not operating in good faith.
"This is not a new, peaceful nuclear energy program. They are headed towards a bomb, and they're are about six months out from the breakout period, which means they could have it within a year."
He noted talks for a new Iran nuclear deal have stalled.
"These talks have broken down primarily because of the distrust," McCaul said. "I don't know how you can trust Iran and with this rocket now coming out publicly — I mean, this rocket is aimed at Israel.
"They're working on their intercontinental ballistic missile. They're not there yet, but they do have short-range rockets that they can deliver these nuclear warheads. And that puts the entire Middle East region at risk. That puts Israel in the bull's-eye. It puts Saudi in the bull's-eye. What I worry about is if they get the bomb, we're going to have an arms race in the Middle East. I can't think of anything more dangerous than that."
According to The Associated Press, Iran appeared to be readying for a space launch this week as satellite images revealed a rocket on a rural desert launch pad, just as tensions remain high over Tehran's nuclear program.
Images from Maxar Technologies revealed a launch pad at Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Iran’s Semnan province.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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