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WASHINGTON — American intelligence agencies have concluded in recent months that Iran has enough nuclear fuel to make a rapid, if risky, sprint to produce the enriched uranium needed for a nuclear weapon. But in a series of briefings to President Obama, they say they believe the country is still holding off on taking the last critical steps in designing a sophisticated bomb.

In the first public acknowledgment of the new intelligence findings, the American ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency declared Wednesday that Iran had arrived at what he called a “possible breakout capacity” if it decided to enrich its stockpile of uranium fuel, converting it to bomb grade material.

The statement by the ambassador, Glyn Davies, was intended to add weight to arguments for far more severe sanctions against Iran this month, perhaps including a cutoff of gasoline, if the country failed t... >>>