By Nerissa Wood
DACULA, Ga. | About the Iran War: to believe Iran wasn’t becoming a serious threat is misguided based on recent intelligence.
Iran had amassed a significant stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity—close to the 90 percent threshold for weapons-grade material—which could theoretically be further enriched to produce fissile material for multiple bombs. Estimates from IAEA inspections in June 2025 (the last full access before renewed restrictions) put this at around 441 kilograms, potentially enough for about 10 nuclear weapons if processed. Further U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff reported that Iranian negotiators claimed in early 226 to have 460 kilograms of 60 percent enriched uranium, sufficient for “11 nuclear bombs,” though this was not independently verified at the time. Similar figures of 400-460 kg appeared in other assessments.
Previous U.S. strikes in June 2025 had damaged key facilities like Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan, setting back Iran’s enrichment capabilities by up to two years, but the knowledge and remaining uranium stockpile persisted. Iran maintained its program was for civilian nuclear power, though its advanced centrifuges and opacity raised concerns about breakout time—the period needed to produce weapons-grade material—which was estimated at weeks to months if pursued.
Nuclear weapons weren’t the only concern, however. Just prior to the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran beginning February 28, 2026, reports indicated China had recently delivered or was in the process of delivering several types of weapons to Iran, raising significant concerns among U.S. and allied officials. These included offensive systems that could enhance Iran’s asymmetric warfare capabilities, particularly against naval forces in the Persian Gulf.
Key deliveries and near-deliveries highlighted in intelligence assessments and media reports were:
- Supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles (CM-302): Often referred to as “carrier killers” due to their Mach 3 speed, 290-460 km range, low-altitude flight profile, and 500 kg warhead, these are the export variant of China’s YJ-12 missile.
- Kamikaze drones (e.g., Sunflower-200 models): China reportedly supplied around 300 units of these loitering munitions, which are designed for precision strikes on ground and naval targets.
- Air defense systems and related equipment: This encompassed HQ-9B anti-ballistic missile systems (3 units), HQ-16B surface-to-air missiles (6 systems), FN-6 man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS, 1,200 units), and radars like YLC-9B (4 units), Type 305A (3 units), and SLC-2 counter-battery radars (6 units). Anti-satellite interceptor missiles (HQ-19, 50 units): Part of the broader package, these could theoretically target U.S. satellites, posing a risk to space-based reconnaissance and communications.
These transfers were often covert, using intermediaries or direct shipments from People’s Liberation Army stockpiles to evade sanctions, and were part of deepening China-Iran ties under their 2021 strategic partnership. U.S. officials expressed concerns that such weapons could escalate the conflict, threaten regional stability, and challenge naval operations.
History shows us that in both World War I and World War II, elements of the U.S. government and military leadership underestimated key aspects of the threats posed by their eventual adversaries. The U.S. initially underestimated both the imminence and capabilities of adversaries in ways which delayed full mobilization and contributed to surprise vulnerabilities. For WWI, it was more geographic and political detachment; for WWII, it involved specific intelligence failures and biases that allowed devastating initial blows like the attack of Pearl Harbor.
Do not let peacetime complacency, wishful thinking or suicidal empathy blind you to the threat that the Iranian Regime poses to Israel and the West.
(My sources were Bloomberg.com, Israel-alma.org, Reuters.com, globaldefensecorp.com, asiatimes.com, Newsweek.com, Forbes.com and my own knowledge of history.)
Nerissa Wood is the great-granddaughter of a World War I veteran, the granddaughter of two World War II veterans and the wife of a veteran.
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