Israel: Iran could have nuke this year

JERUSALEM, June 1 (UPI) -- Iran could produce enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon by the end of this year, an Israeli intelligence official says.

Brig. Gen. Yossi Baidatz, head of the research division of Israeli Military Intelligence, told a Knesset committee Monday that the speed at which Iran is moving toward making a nuclear weapon is "extremely troubling," the Israeli Web site Ynetnews.com reported.

"Iran is extremely troubling because of its speed," Baidatz told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. "It has missiles which could reach Israel. The Iranian clock precedes the international dialogue clock."

The warning comes after Israeli Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi told the committee last week that the army was actively preparing for a nuclear armed Iran.

"Iran continues with its plans," Ashkenazi said. "The existence of nuclear weapons in Iran's possession could destabilize the situation in the entire Middle East."