U.N. Finds Uranium in Iran Enriched to Higher Level

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3. The standard for bomb grade seems to be 90%, but I've read that 20% will do in a pinch,

just very dirty and puny explosions, relatively speaking (heh.)

And when they talk about being just a short step, I believe they are talking about how long the enrichment process takes, which I guess would be considered in terms of getting to 90% or something on that order, which given the way purification works, makes sense, it likely goes much faster as purity improves, an exponential process.

Most of the time is taken up with purification, once you get the centrifuges running, and it appears to me that it is already the case that Iran could make a nuke if they wanted too, they would have one now if they wanted one, you have to realize this argument has been going on for quite a long time.

So the premise in the OP is: Iran does not have 90% enriched Uranium yet, but has the means to get there "quickly".

And that's the "threat", which Iran on the other hand likely views as a credible deterrent, which also still leaves them theoretically OK under the NPT, which allows enrichment for "peaceful purposes", not unlike say Japan, which could also make nukes quickly if they chose to, for example.

The argument about nukes appears to me to be not entirely baseless, but largely driven by other geopolitical considerations, Iran is a big country with large population and natural resources, and thus is seen as a threat in various ways by other parties that also see themselves as big-shots in oneway or another.