Iran has said that it's working on nuclear energy, not a bomb. Their pope-level religious leader said it was haram to have nuclear weapons. I know you can't necessarily trust Iran's word, but can you trust Israel's?
I've never received any answer to the question "what legitimate non-military use is there for a 60%-plus enriched uranium?"
The nuclear reactors can provide free electricity out of 2-5% enriched uranium, the naval propulsion (like for ... nuclear icebreakers for the Straits of Hormuz, I dunno?) needs 8-10% enriched.
It doesn't matter what they say, or what their leaders say -- there is only one use for 60%+ enriched uranium known to the science, and it's military (the atomic bomb).
Fast neutron reactors / breeder reactors need I'm not exactly sure but something like 20% but they can use very highly enriched. Naval reactors can use very highly enriched for longer fuel service life, it's not necessary but they can and it has benefits.
The US and Russia in slightly better days were burning off their excessive amounts of stockpiled enriched uranium and plutonium in fast neutron reactors just to get rid of it as part of a mutual drawdown of stockpiles – not at all necessary but can definitely be used.
Small amounts for research reactors, medical isotope production and the like is an argument.
Those are the possible uses but it's just thinly veiled BS when a country like Iran has 60% enriched uranium for civilian power projects. The only actual reason to stockpile it like that is so you can spout nonsense about its purpose while only being a short distance away from enriching it to weapons grade.
Considering Iran has exactly one nuclear power plant being built by Russia (with Russian fuel), "it's possible in theory to also do other things" looks like extremely far-fetched theories when the actual truth is out there: they want a bomb.
> being a short distance away from enriching it to weapons grade
There is ZERO serious questioning that Iran was working on developing nuclear weapons. It is abundantly clear that they were. How actively and to what extent in recent years is a matter of some debate but in general they absolutely have had a serious weapons program.
Netanyahu has been claiming that Iran will have a nuke within a few years, for more than 30 years, and seeking to use that as a justification to invade them. If Iran wanted to make a nuke in this time frame they would have. The only thing that changed now is that he found a big enough idiot to believe him. Though now that the US and Israel have invaded them, I do expect they will develop a nuclear weapon, because it seems to be the only way for a nation to ensure its security in modern times.
Actually having an assembled weapon is a red line and significant threat.
Having almost-a-bomb like an IKEA Billy shelf still unassembled in its box in the garage is what they wanted. The threat of being able to have a bomb. There have been several instances over the decades of the west finding and blowing up their prepared materials and facilities in order to try to make the runway longer.
By the way this is also most likely where Japan is.
Japan is also a NPT signatory and they also very likely have an almost-bomb. That is in secret they very likely have the research, the designs, the industrial capacity for the final enrichment, and almost weapons grade enriched stockpiles. They don't want to have to cross the line into the territory of actually constructing a bomb or announcing it publicly, but they want the potential and for their adversaries to know that they could do it in short order without giving them enough of a provocation to actually be called out.
No, actually having an assembled weapon is how they get the US and Israel to stop screwing over their country, which has been going on for more than 70 years now. They inched up their enrichment higher and higher each time the US or Israel attacked them as a warning. And the US and Israel kept attacking them. There is nowhere left to go but nuclear from here.
This is even more true as the former Supreme Leader of Iran had issued a religious fatwa against the development of a nuclear weapon. And then the US decided to assassinate him. His successor, his son, is much more hardline. That's either some serious 5d chess, or we just have idiots for leaders and allies alike. And we both know which it is.
The nuclear reactors can provide free electricity out of 2-5% enriched uranium, the naval propulsion (like for ... nuclear icebreakers for the Straits of Hormuz, I dunno?) needs 8-10% enriched.
It doesn't matter what they say, or what their leaders say -- there is only one use for 60%+ enriched uranium known to the science, and it's military (the atomic bomb).