New SIPRI Report Includes Data on Israeli Plutonium Production

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According to calculations done by the researchers at SIPRI, one of the most influential research institutes in the world, Israel has produced 690-950 kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium at the Dimona reactor. This statistic was included in a recently published report. SIPRI researchers mention two reservations: The data was correct as of late December 2011, and only some of the plutonium was actually used to produce nuclear weapons.

According to scientific publications one nuclear bomb requires about 6 kilograms of plutonium, and so Israel could have manufactured 115-158 atomic bombs.

IHLS – Israel Homeland Security

The SIPRI institute (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) was established in 1966. It publishes annual reports based on data collected on the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, in addition to reports on international conflicts. The SIPRI reports are considered highly credible and are sent to important research institutes worldwide, to heads of states and to the media.

SIPRI researchers also referred to the Iranian nuclear weapons program this week on the institute’s website. According to them the talks with the west are unlikely to succeed in any meaningful way: The negotiations between Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (together with Germany) on the future of the Iranian nuclear program have failed so far, mostly because of the deep distrust between the sides. The SIPRI experts add, somewhat ironically, that “Now it remains to be seen if the somewhat conciliatory atmosphere ahead of the renewed negotiations will lead to a limited first step towards a practical, long range agreement, or to a last step before negotiations fall apart.”