I disagree completely.
Just because Starfish Prime and the Russian bomb that blew the generators in Khazakhstan were H-bombs doesn't mean that's what's required.
What's required are high-energy gamma rays, high above a significantly-ionized layer in the ionosphere. A good-sized uranium bomb with a uranium tamper can do that just fine. And Iran is developing a heavy-lift missile capability.
There are Iranian missiles in Venezuela NOW. Who knows if they have uranium bombs on them?
If I was a whackjob Islamonazi terroist, that's exactly what I'd do. Lob one up from Hugo's Paradise, peaking at 250 miles over Manhattan, Kansas, with a peak yield in the 50 to 100kT range, with a nice uranium tamper for a boost in gamma output.
But Ron Paul says there is nothing wrong or to worry about with Islamic Jihadist getting nukes.
“I disagree completely. “
You are correct. The HEMP pulse energy produced is remarkably disconnected (i.e. non-linear) from the size of the detonation.
A 10kT explosion at altitude creates (off the top of my head) close to 90% of the HEMP energy as a 100kT explosion.