Iran is only a matter of months from being able to create a nuclear weapon, according to experts.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 54, has long been pushing his country's nuclear capabilities, and at the current rate of uranium enrichment the first bomb could be eight weeks away.

Gregory S Jones, from RAND, published a report this week explaining the severity of the situation and to confirm the fears expressed by a United Nations watchdog.

 In spite of a number of set backs, says the researcher, the Iranian regime is back on track with their nuclear programme - and there is very little American, or the U.N. can do about it.

Jones based his report on recent findings by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - their report was published two weeks ago.

Manufacturing the bomb will take about two months, Jones believes - as constructing a nuclear warhead is a complicated process.

In order to halt the process, Jones comments, forces will have to deploy ground forces - airstrikes will no longer be sufficient.

He believes that Tehran, the Iranian capital, has produced 38.3kg of uranium enriched at 19.7 per cent.