"Iran Could Produce Nuclear Bomb in 16 Days" - Really?

Dear Sebastian Alison,

In “Iran Could Produce Nuclear Bomb in 16 Days, U.S. Says (Update2)” you report:

April 12 (Bloomberg) -- Iran, defying United Nations Security Council demands to halt its nuclear program, may be capable of making a nuclear bomb within 16 days, a U.S. State Department official said. (...) Using those 50,000 centrifuges they could produce enough highly enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon in 16 days,'' Stephen Rademaker, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation, told reporters today in Moscow.”

The Washington Post reported on August 2, 2005:

“A major U.S. intelligence review has projected that Iran is about a decade away from manufacturing the key ingredient for a nuclear weapon, roughly doubling the previous estimate of five years, according to government sources with firsthand knowledge of the new analysis.” (Iran Is Judged 10 Years From Nuclear Bomb. U.S. Intelligence Review Contrasts With Administration Statements, By Dafna Linzer, Washington Post Staff Writer, Tuesday, August 2, 2005)

Did any reporter in Moscow ask Mr. Rademaker about that “major U.S. intelligence review [that] has projected that Iran is about a decade away from manufacturing the key ingredient for a nuclear weapon” ?

Will you have a chance to ask him about this in a next press conference?

In your report you don’t write anything either about that “major U.S. intelligence review [that] has projected that Iran is about a decade away from manufacturing the key ingredient for a nuclear weapon”. So, I would be very interested in your comments on this.

Thank you for your time.

Kind regards,
Gabriele Zamparini