Who poses the biggest threat to world peace in 2009?
Iran is one to watch cautiously for its potential to finally produce a nuclear bomb, but Russia likely will have more bark than bite, according to a newly released assessment by Britain's International Institute for Strategic Studies.
The think tank's 'Military Balance 2009,' an annual assessment of global defense and military developments, estimates that Iran will have enough enriched uranium by the end of the year to produce one nuclear bomb, according to a report on the study by Sky News, a corporate sister of FOX News.
Announcing the new report on Tuesday, Mark Fitzpatrick said the threat isn't necessarily as big as it sounds.
"Being able to enrich uranium is not the same as having nuclear weapons," he said.
Russia, on the other hand, made a great show of its military last year, including through naval exercises with Venezuela. But the IISS study found that Russia is much less threatening than it would like to appear.
A Times of London report on the study described the former Soviet powerhouse as a "paper tiger," noting that study's conclusion that Russia's displays of its naval fleet were mere symbolic gestures.
The country was only able to deploy a small number of ships, while the rest were anchored at home — there wasn't enough money to keep the whole fleet at sea, according to the study.
Click here for more from Sky News.
Click here for more from Times of London.
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