Iran will have enough enriched uranium to make a single nuclear weapon later this year, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) reported on Tuesday.
The think tank made the prediction in its ‘Military Balance 2009,’ an annual assessment of global defense and military developments.
Announcing the new report on Tuesday, Mark Fitzpatrick said the threat may not necessarily as big as it sounds.
“Being able to enrich uranium is not the same as having nuclear weapons,” he said.

MOSCOW (AFP) — Russia and Ukraine were set for a new round of talks Saturday in a bid to resolve their gas dispute that has Europe struggling through winter without crucial gas supplies from the ex-Soviet giants.
Russia pushed Friday for greater international involvement in resolving its dispute with Ukraine as Kiev sought to retake some of the diplomatic initiative, hosting officials from three of its European neighbors for talks on the gas crisis.
It was unclear exactly what was to take place in Moscow on Saturday, although the Kremlin accredited …

Ukraine signed an accord with Russia and the European Union on monitoring transit gas through its territory, setting the stage for the resumption of supplies to Europe after four days of disruption amid freezing temperatures.
Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, who represents the EU, secured the agreement of Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko in Kiev, after talks with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin yesterday at his residence outside Moscow.

A ceasefire in the Gaza strip could be secured within days if the smuggling routes that supply arms and money to Hamas can be blocked off, Tony Blair said today as Israel moved its forces deeper into southern Gaza.
But the entire region should brace itself for a “protracted campaign” if the border between the Gaza strip and Egypt – through which Hamas militants are supplied – is not secured, Mr Blair warned.
Israel today demanded that Hamas be prevented from rearming as a main condition of any ceasefire. Mark Regev, …

The conflict between Israel and Hamas can be resolved, former UK prime minister Tony Blair has insisted.
Mr Blair, now a Middle East envoy, said there was a “basis” for an immediate ceasefire if the supply of arms into Gaza from Egypt was halted.
But Mr Blair warned of a “more protracted campaign” if firm action was not taken and said the people of Gaza were living through “hell”.

JERUSALEM — Israeli warplanes pounded Hamas targets in Gaza for a seventh day on Friday while Israel allowed hundreds of foreigners, many of them married to Palestinians, to leave the enclave, raising fears there that Israel was planning to escalate its week-old campaign.
Tensions spread to the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where Palestinian anger at reports of civilian casualties in Gaza seemed to be translating into at least a temporary increase in popular sympathy for Hamas.
Israel has vowed to press its offensive until there is no more rocket fire …

Talks to resolve a gas supply row between Ukraine and Russia have failed, raising fears of possible energy shortages across Europe.
Gazprom said gas supplies to Ukraine would be cut on Thursday but that Russia would do its best to guarantee supplies to Europe.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin earlier said that Ukraine would block supplies to Europe if no deal was done.
Ukraine denies owing money to Gazprom, and says it has guaranteed gas transit.

LI-ON, Israel: Many Israelis feel that the walls – and history – are closing in on their 60-year-old state, much as they felt in early June 1967, just before Israel launched the Six-Day War and destroyed the Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian armies in Sinai, the West Bank and the Golan Heights.
More than 40 years ago, the Egyptians had driven a UN peacekeeping force from the Sinai-Israel border, had closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping and air traffic and had deployed the equivalent of seven armored and infantry divisions …

Moscow hosted the Interpolitech-2008 international arms exhibition featuring the most advanced Russian and foreign-made military and specialized equipment for police and secret services.
Equipment purchases for national security agencies and secret services were also announced.
UAZ Patriot scout vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles for the Russian Federal Security Service’s border troops and state-of-the-art liquid-crystal displays from Belarus and many other systems were displayed.

The PP-2000 is an advanced submachine gun made by the KBP Instrument Design Bureau. It was first publicly displayed at the Interpolytech-2004 exhibition in Moscow even though its patent was filled in 2001 and issued in 2003.
The PP-2000 is designed as a personal defense and close quarter combat weapon, intended for SWAT and Special Operations forces. It is now available to military and law enforcement users worldwide. The PP-2000 is a conventional blowback-operated weapon and weighs 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) empty.