60% Enrichment, 0% Media Clarity

For the past few days, I’ve noticed that news platforms on the left, center, right, and even the ones that claim to remove bias (like Ground News) are dangerously misleading the public about uranium enrichment.

Balance Without Truth. The Media Is Getting Iran’s Nuclear Program Dangerously Wrong

A question from a friend of mine perfectly highlights just how misleading the coverage has become. These platforms talk about Iran’s 60% enrichment capability as if it’s somehow far from being weapons-grade uranium. Add to that the bullshit Instagram posts pushed by idiots like Matt Gaetz, and you’ve got people like my buddy genuinely confused.

Here’s what he asked me:

“I’ve seen videos all over Instagram of Netanyahu saying Iran was about to have a nuke since 1995, and others of Bush using the same reason to invade Iraq. So how is this time different?”

Let’s break it down.

Bush ≠ Iran

I’ll start with Bush, since it’s not really the same situation.

Bush used mediocre and flawed intelligence reports with high levels of uncertainty as his basis to invade Iraq – mostly centered on Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs), not nuclear weapons specifically.

Iraq did actually attempt to develop nuclear weapons between the 1960s and 1980s. The country began forming its nuclear program in the 1960s and, in the mid-1970s, purchased a French-built Osiris-class reactor. This reactor, later known as Osirak, was widely suspected, especially by Israel and Western intelligence agencies, to be part of a covert nuclear weapons effort.

In 1981, Israel launched Operation Opera, a military strike in which Israeli fighter jets flew into Iraqi airspace and destroyed the Osirak nuclear reactor before it could become operational. You can read more about the mission – it’s a well-documented part of modern military and nonproliferation history.

After the strike, Iraq’s nuclear ambitions were largely neutralized. Saddam Hussein later attempted to revive the program underground, but the destruction of Osirak was a major setback that delayed any serious progress toward a nuclear weapon.

Netanyahu and Iran:

Now, about the Netanyahu/Iran situation. And this is where the 60% enrichment figure becomes central.

In 1995, Netanyahu warned in his book that Iran was 5-7 years away from developing a nuclear weapon. This wasn’t just his opinion, most Western intelligence agencies at the time shared this assessment.

So why didn’t Iran achieve a bomb within that timeframe?

Because Iran didn’t have a clear, uninterrupted path. For many years, Israel (along with the US) exploited a zero-day vulnerability in Iran’s nuclear centrifuges. This cyber exploit, now known as Stuxnet, fed false data to the Iranian systems and caused centrifuges to spin out of control and self-destruct. Iranian scientists believed everything was working correctly, when in fact, their enrichment process was being actively sabotaged. This went on for years before Iran even realized what was happening.

Meanwhile, both Presidents Bush and Obama knew that Iran was working to enrich uranium. That effort never stopped, it was just slowed down.

The 60% Enrichment Problem

Fast-forward to today, in 2025. Netanyahu has claimed that Iran’s nuclear breakout time is now under a year. This claim is based on reports that Iran currently possesses 9.2 tonnes of uranium enriched to 60% purity.

Now, you may hear people say, “But you need 90%+ enrichment to make a nuclear bomb.”

That’s technically true but it’s also a very misleading statement. Here’s why:

First, A bomb theoretically can be built with 60% enriched uranium, though it would be less efficient and bulkier. But either way, 60% is far beyond any legitimate civilian use. Second, the technology, capability, know-how, and motivation to weaponize uranium clearly exist within Iran’s military and nuclear circles if they’ve already enriched it to 60%.

So why is Netanyahu’s claim today in 2025 true? We’ve established that the Iranians have 60% enrichment. Enriching from 60% to 90% is not some fundamentally different or insurmountable task. It’s the same process, just taken further.

This is KEY: The bulk of the effort required to reach weapons-grade uranium is already done by the time you hit 60%. Thats because Uranium enrichment is an exponential process. The early stages are the most time- and energy-intensive.

Enrichment is not a linear process!
Again, because this is what the news doesn’t tell you, getting from natural uranium (~0.7%) to 60% takes far more time and energy than getting from 60% to 90%.

Meaning the final step, from 60% to 90%, could be accomplished in a matter of weeks, assuming the infrastructure is in place.

So, Is Netanyahu Lying Now? Was He Wrong in 1995?

Neither.

Iran was on track in the 1990s but it was covertly sabotaged. Delays were the result of cyberattacks, diplomacy, and the assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists.

Today, the situation is different.

Iran has the technical expertise.

Iran has the infrastructure.

Iran has the enriched material.

The only thing left is intent, and after Israel has decimated two of Iran’s most valued proxies on the Israeli border, that intent seems more likely than ever. The only question now is timing.

The Bottom Line

This is about understanding how uranium enrichment actually works and why a 60% stockpile in Iran’s hands is far more dangerous than most news outlets, or the mediocre journalists within them, are willing (or competent enough) to explain.

If we let lazy media narratives or partisan influencers dominate the conversation, we’re going to be caught off guard.