Iran pushes toward nuclear capabilities

Iran seized a South Korean–flagged tanker near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. The same day, it bumped up its uranium enrichment level at its underground Fordo facility in Tehran to 20 percent, the highest since it agreed to a nuclear deal with world powers in 2015.

Can Iran make nuclear weapons? It does not take much to alter uranium from 20 percent enriched to the 90 percent required to make weapons-grade material. The 2015 Iran nuclear deal capped enrichment at 3.67 percent. The move puts pressure on the United States and European countries to discuss changing their diplomatic response.

Dig deeper: Read Mindy Belz’s analysis of the Iranian nuclear program.