According to a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has slowed the rate at which it enriches uranium in recent months. However, the agency belonging to the United Nations indicates that the reserves of this chemical element have increased, enriched by up to 60%, close to the 90% that is necessary for the manufacture of an atomic weapon. Simultaneously, Tehran continues to fail to cooperate with the IAEA in monitoring its nuclear program.
Between last May and August, Iran slowed down the production of uranium enriched up to 60%. This is supported by a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), known this Monday, September 4.
Although it could be a signal to try to ease tensions after years of disputes between the Islamic Republic and the United States over this matter, agency inspectors do not know the reasons behind the significant slowdown. “It could be a political or technical decision,” diplomatic sources in Vienna said.
The report also highlights that enriched uranium reserves continue to grow, albeit at a slower rate. According to IAEA data, Iran has 121.6 kilograms of this chemical element enriched up to 60%, while a report last May placed those stores at around 114 kilograms. Until last February, he was 87.5 kilograms.
Iran’s production of uranium enriched up to 60% has fallen by about 3 kg per month, compared with 9 kg which previously increased per month, a senior diplomat stressed.
Although the UN nuclear watchdog points out that this means that in recent months Iranian reserves have been growing at their slowest rate since 2021, they do not stop increasing.
Experts stress that uranium enriched to 60% purity is only a small technical step away from reaching 90%, a level needed to make an atomic weapon.
That level of enrichment is also well above the 20% it produced before the historic nuclear deal reached in 2015 with six world powers, a pact currently suspended amid international efforts to resume it.
The authorities of the Islamic Republic continue to refute the accusations that they seek nuclear weapons and insist that their program has exclusively peaceful objectives.
But previously, IAEA director general Rafael Grossi had warned that Tehran has enough enriched uranium for “several” nuclear bombs if it decides to produce them.
It is likely that Tehran will still need months to make such a weapon. US intelligence agencies noted in March that Iran was not yet “undertaking the key nuclear weapons development activities that would be necessary to produce a testable nuclear device.”
The IAEA accuses Iran of not cooperating in monitoring its nuclear program
The International Atomic Energy Agency also highlights that the Islamic Republic continues to not collaborate in the surveillance activities that this agency must carry out on its uranium production and limits the activities of the IAEA.
Doubts remain about traces of uranium that were found at undeclared sites in Iran.
“(IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi regrets that there has been no progress in resolving the outstanding safeguards issues in this reporting period,” the document said, referring to Iran’s inability to credibly explain the origin of uranium particles found in two undeclared mines.
The IAEA continues to have regular access to Iran’s declared nuclear facilities and core nuclear activities under long-standing agreements, dating back to 2015.
However, the pact reached eight years ago added monitoring to areas such as the production of parts for centrifuges and machines that enrich uranium, but in June 2022, Iran turned off the 27 cameras that monitored compliance with the agreement, by which it was allowed to develop atomic energy for civilian use.
Although last March, as a result of a negotiation, the UN body and Tehran announced that they were reactivating the surveillance cameras of various facilities, there are places, such as a nuclear production site in Isfahan, of which the agency does not have access to the images. that record their cameras, since they were not included in the agreement reached five months ago.
“The (IAEA) director general reiterates that for the agency’s cameras to be effective, including those installed in Isfahan, the Agency needs access to the data they record,” the report added.
Iran criticizes deadlock in negotiations to revive 2015 nuclear deal
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani blamed Western countries involved in the deal for holding back its resumption.
“They have no real will to return to the agreement and fulfill their obligations,” Kanaani said, quoted by the state news agency IRNA.
Eight years ago, in an attempt to ensure that Iran could not develop atomic weapons, world powers struck a deal with Tehran, led by the government of then US President Barack Obama.
Under the pact, the parties agreed to limit uranium enrichment to levels necessary for nuclear power, in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions, and UN inspectors were given the task of monitoring the program.
But years later, in 2018, the then US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew his country from what was agreed, claiming that he would negotiate a stronger agreement, something that did not happen. In response, Iran began violating the terms of the agreement a year later. So far, attempts to return to the once-historic pact have been unsuccessful.
With Reuters, AP and EFE
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