TEHRAN – Iran said on Saturday its uranium enrichment capacity had reached record levels, a day before UN nuclear monitors were due to visit the country.
“Currently, the country’s enrichment capacity has reached more than twice the entire history of this industry,” Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, was quoted by the state news agency as saying. IRNA.
“The production of nuclear energy and atomic energy represents great economic savings for the country and is effective in reducing the consumption of fossil and non-renewable fuels and environmental problems,” he added.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said last month that, according to its assessment, as of October 22, Iran had about 62.3 kilograms (137.3 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% of fissile purity. This represents an increase of 6.7 kilograms since the IAEA’s last report in September.
This 60% purity enrichment is a short technical step away from military grade levels of 90%. Non-proliferation experts have warned in recent months that Iran now has enough 60% enriched uranium to reprocess it into fuel for at least one nuclear bomb.
The IAEA report, which was viewed by The Associated Press, also estimated that as of October 22, Iran’s stockpile of all enriched uranium was 3,673.7 kilograms, a decrease of 267.2 kilograms since the last quarterly report in September.
The Vienna-based IAEA said it was unable to verify the exact size of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium due to limitations Tehran imposed on UN inspectors last year and the removal of the agency’s control and surveillance equipment in June from Iranian sites.
The IAEA announced on Wednesday that a technical team would travel to Iran on Sunday to try to unblock an impasse over the detection of traces of radioactive materials at sites not declared to have hosted nuclear activities.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi is not expected to be part of the delegation.
The UN nuclear watchdog has long called on Iran to explain the presence of artificial uranium found at three undeclared sites, asking for ‘access to locations and materials’ as well as the collection of samples.
Iranian nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami speaks during the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, on September 26, 2022. (Joe Klamar/AFP )
Islami said on December 9 that the material detected at the three sites had been brought into Iran from abroad.
The issue has seriously hampered efforts to revive a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the major powers, which has been hanging by a thread since the United States unilaterally withdrew in 2018 under the president of the era, Donald Trump.
An IAEA delegation originally planned to visit Tehran last month, but the visit was postponed after the agency’s board of governors criticized Iran for failing to provide ‘technically credible’ answers .
As part of the 2015 deal, Iran agreed to limit its uranium enrichment to just under 4%, well below the 90% level considered necessary for a nuclear warhead.
In exchange for this and other curbs on its nuclear activities, Iran was promised relief from international sanctions.
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