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Sooooooo - hmmmm - sounds to me like this isn’t nearly as big of a deal as some are making it out to be? That it is not what Iran needs to make nuclear weapons. So, if this day comes and goes it is not the end. ? That is what I am reading on this thread from those in the know. At least that is what it sounds like.

Don’t listen to them silverknight - those that think Bushehr isn’t a big deal have been bamboozled.
This is a quote form General Thomas McInerney on frontpagemag today...
“The danger is that 40 to 60 plutonium bombs could be manufactured once the Bushehr plant is online so the IDF must strike Iran now,” he said. “Iran may have crossed the nuclear threshold, which is unacceptable.”

I don't think this plant is the big Plutonium generator that is typically attributed to a nuke. There really is a difference between nuclear plants. The Ruskie RBMK (Chernobyl) for example, appears to be a plant that was build for producing electricity and Plutonium and uses graphite as a neutron moderator. Our former government Plutonium producing plants also used graphite. Graphite has different properties with regards to slowing neutrons. Of course, it also burns. The concept of Plutonium production involves enabling U-238 (a different Uranium isotope that the U-235 fuel) to absorb a neutron to produce Pu-239. Of course Pu-239 can absorb a neutron and become Pu-240, which is a sink for neutrons. Pu-240 can also absorb a neutron and create Pu-241 - and also Pu-242, which also a neutron sink. For weapons grade material, you don't want neutron sinks. This means that you only want to create Pu-239 by only having the U-238 in the neutron flux long enough without going to Pu-240. Of course it's a little more involved than that and the Plutonium (mostly Pu-239) must be chemically extracted from the Uranium.

Our PWR and BWR light water commercial reactors (owned by utilities and other investors - and TVA) that are used to generate electricity use water to moderate (or slow) the neutrons. The goal of these plants it to run for a long time (18 months) to produce electricity. This counter of what you want to do to produce good Plutonium. The Bushehr plant appears to be a similar type of plant as our PWRs and built for electric generation. As agere_contra has stated however, it will produce a lot of fission products and daughter isotopes. This material can be used with conventional explosives to create a “dirty” bomb. I believe that this is a terror device since it would induce fear/terror - and unfortunately not justified. However with further thought, the Iranians would have a tough time handling and shipping this material due to a number of reasons.

I don't think this plant will enhance their nuclear weapon material generation capability. What concerns me more is their heavy water reactor (uses the Deuterium isotope of hydrogen as part of the water molecule as the moderator) at Arak. This plant has several advantages to the VVER-1000/440 or other similar PWR. First it doesn't need enriched Uranium as fuel, it uses natural Uranium which means that you don't need to buy it from a select market or use centrifuges. Also the heavy water has a different neutron characteristic. I believe that the Iranians are using this reactor to produce Plutonium, just like the Israelis, Pakistanis, and other have done with their heavy water reactors to produce Plutonium. It is estimated that if this reactor is operated optimally, Iran will be able to produce about 9 kilos of Plutonium annually or about two nuclear weapons each year. The Iranians claim the reactor will be used for isotope production. This type of small reactor is not built for electric generation - it is either for Plutonium and/or isotope production. From everything I've read, I'm not sure of its status, or its hot box labs, but the Iranians have been keeping the IAEA out especially after they found traces of Plutonium. This reactor gives Iran a dual path of enriched Uranium using their centrifuges and Plutonium from Akar.