Iran already has atomic weapon, making nuke deal 'moot,' says US military expert

Iranian workers stand in front of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, about 1,200 km south of Tehran, on Oct. 26, 2010.Reuters

Iran already possesses a nuclear weapon, thus making the deal to stop it from acquiring atomic firepower a "moot point," a retired US Army major general and a senior military analyst revealed.

Speaking on Newsmax TV on Thursday, Maj. Gen. Paul E. Vallely said intelligence reports indicate that Tehran has "gotten the support from Russia,from North Korea and from China" in building its first atomic weapon.

"It's a cabal that's been set up to support the Iranian nuclear programme. They have the launch systems. They have the guidance-control system. They have the detonation system. They have the warhead. And guess what? Russia and North Korea's tested everything for them," he said.

"All they have to do is put it together like a tinker toy — and that's why they have the nuclear capability now," Vallely said.

He said Iran only agreed on the nuclear deal to be able to get back its $150 billion worth of assets that were frozen as part of the Western sanctions slapped on it for its sponsorship of terrorism and plans to acquire weapons of mass destruction.

Vallely's assertion that Tehran is already armed with a nuclear weapon was supported by retired Army Col. Derek Harvey, former adviser to Gen. David Petraeus.

"It's very credible," he said of Vallely's statement, adding that "we need to treat Iran much differently with greater level of suspicion and doubt."

Vallely joined nearly 200 retired military generals and admirals who sent a joint letter to the US Congress earlier this week urging them not to pass the Iran deal.

While polls have shown that Americans opposed the deal, President Barack Obama's campaign among Congress members appears to be paying off.

CBN reported that to date, 29 Senate Democrats are backing the deal with two against it and 15 others still undecided. That's close to the 34 votes needed to uphold a presidential veto of an agreement rejecting the deal.

Meanwhile, Iran renewed its pledge to wipe Israel off the map. Hussein Sheikholeslam, an Iran foreign affairs adviser, said he "rejects the existence of any Israeli on this earth. Our positions against the usurper Zionist regime have not changed at all; Israel should be annihilated and this is our ultimate slogan."

As the Iran nuclear deal continues to be debated in Washington, Russia and Iran have announced agreements including two Russian space companies forming a joint venture with an Iranian corporation to build a satellite observation system.