Iran only making slow nuclear progress: expert

Iran is not making fast progress towards acquiring a nuclear weapon, a US expert said Friday, adding he believed Tehran would still need another two years to achieve that goal.

"Iran is not moving as fast as it could. They've been at it since 25 years since they started the Iranian enrichment program in about 1985," said Mark Fitzpatrick, from the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

He said Iran would still need "a little over two years to have a bomb."

Fitzpatrick also compared Tehran's slow progress to the 11 years it took Pakistan to acquire a nuclear capacity, as he presented an IISS report entitled "Iran's nuclear, chemical and biological capabilities: a net assessment."

But Fitzpatrick, a former State Department employee, added Iran had still not yet completely decided whether to press ahead with making a nuclear bomb. (read more)