It’s interesting how the Iranians have been working diligently for years just to do something that the U.S. and Brits did eighty years ago.  Nazi Germany also had a nuclear weapons program, headed by Werner Heisenberg — which was abandoned in favor of lower-tech electrical generation after the Wehrmacht was stifled in the battle of Moscow (1941–42).

The Manhattan Project lasted about four years and was named after the Manhattan office of the Army Corps of Engineers.  Its head, General Leslie Groves, became noticed as a colonel after he successfully supervised the building of the Pentagon.  He was offered a general’s rank if he took the assignment, and his response was “First make me a general, and then I’ll take the job.”

Since Germany was knocked out of the war before Japan, German nuclear scientists who surrendered to the Allies were housed on a remote British farm.  When news of the bombing of Hiroshima came in over the radio, the Germans were aghast that the Americans would actually use such a destructive weapon. 

The incendiary bombing of Japan — that led up to the only two hostile uses of nuclear weapons in human history — was considerably more destructive but possibly less of a shock.  The cult of Kamikaze (Divine Wind) was embedded in Japanese culture.  As preparations for the surrender on board the USS Missouri were being made, a small group of Japanese Air Force officers were planning on crashing an explosive-laden plane right into the proceedings.  The emperor’s cousin got wind of the plot, commandeered a car, and arrested them.

It can be assumed that the nuclear stalemate among several nations is what kept the Cold War from catching fire.  The question remains as to whether Iran could ever possibly be trusted to be a member of the club.

Beyond the enrichment of fissile uranium, the next technical challenge faced by the Manhattan Project was the development of the shaped charge that would blow the two halves of the uranium load into the one critical mass necessary for an explosion.  When the first bomb was tested at Alamogordo, it was suspected by some that a chain reaction in the atmosphere could be started and possibly destroy the whole planet.  It’s kind of nice that they were wrong.

In today’s world, the ongoing technological upgrade for nuclear weapons has to do with their delivery systems and not their destructive ability.  In the concluding days of WW2, it was the B-29, a large, high-altitude bomber.  Then came Werner von Braun and the guided missile.  Then came MIRVs (multiple independently targeted re-entry vehicles).  And now we have hypersonic missiles.

So what do the Iranians have?  It is reported that they have quite a few.  But, when compared to the established club members, they don’t have much in the way of range.  They can barely reach Italy.

Does this mean that we can pooh-pooh the Iranian threat?  Of course not.  Beyond capability, the issue is willingness.  The mullahs are at war with the entire outside world.  Any weapon placed in their hands is gladly received and will be used when the opportunity is presented.  It is suspected that those crafty Israelis, being Iran’s primary target, have their own nuclear arsenal...but since they have nowhere to test one, the mystery remains.

Image: CristianIS via Pixabay, Pixabay License.