Iran increases its near weapons-grade uranium

 

FILE – A student looks at Iran’s domestically built centrifuges in an exhibition of the country’s nuclear achievements, in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 8, 2023. Iran has increased its supply of uranium that has been enriched to 60% purity, according to IAEA reports seen by news agencies.  

Iran has increased its supply of uranium that has been enriched to 60% purity, according to confidential International Atomic Energy Agency reports sent to member states and seen by several news agencies.

Atomic weapons can be created when uranium enriched to 60% is further enriched to 90%. The enrichment procedure is a short, technical process.

However, Iran has offered to cap its stockpile of enriched uranium if Western powers abandon their plan to pass a resolution against the Middle Eastern country at the IAEA Board of Governors meeting this week in Vienna. The resolution is about Iran’s lack of cooperation with the IAEA, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency.

Diplomats told Reuters the campaign for the resolution, backed by Britain, France, Germany and the United States, continues.

If the resolution is adopted, the IAEA would then have to issue a “comprehensive report” on Iran’s nuclear activities, diplomats told Reuters.

Iran made the offer to stop producing the enriched uranium last week during a visit to Tehran by IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.

One day after Grossi’s visit, IAEA inspectors confirmed that “Iran had begun implementation of preparatory measures aimed at stopping the additional stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60% U-235” at its underground nuclear sites in Fordow and Natanz.

The IAEA report revealed that as of October 26, Iran had 182.3 kilograms of 60%-enriched uranium, an increase of 17.6 kilograms since the August report. The Middle Eastern country maintains that its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes only.

Grossi has previously warned that Iran has enough enriched uranium that could be further enriched to make several atomic weapons.

Iran’s original IAEA deal allowed it to enrich uranium to 3.67% purity and keep a supply of only 300 kilograms of uranium.

IAEA’s dispute with Iran comes at an internationally sensitive time as Iran and Israel have exchanged missile attacks related to Israel’s war with Hamas and Hezbollah, designated terror groups that Iran supports.

In addition, Donald Trump will become the U.S. president in January. During Trump’s first term in office, he withdrew the U.S. from the world’s nuclear deal with Iran, a move that exposed Iran to sanctions that have had a crippling effect on its economy.

Some information provided by The Associated Press and Reuters.

By：VOA