IAEA: Iran’s Enriched Uranium Stockpile Is 16 Times Above Allowed Limit
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency announced in his latest report that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile has increased by 273 kilograms, and Tehran has yet to provide any explanation regarding nuclear material particles found at three inspected locations.
Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, expressed concern that technical discussions between the Islamic Republic and the Agency have not yielded the expected results. He stated that after months have passed, Tehran has failed to provide the necessary explanations regarding the presence of atomic material particles at three inspected locations.
In Grossi’s latest report to the Board of Governors, it is stated that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile has increased by 273 kilograms over the past three months and has reached 16 times the ceiling set in the JCPOA. Iran’s stockpile reserves are estimated at 3,241 kilograms. According to the JCPOA, this amount should not exceed 202 kilograms.
Iran is currently engaged in uranium enrichment at three levels: 4.7 percent, 20 percent, and 60 percent.
Grossi stated in his report that Iran likely possesses 2.4 kilograms of 60 percent enriched uranium. The Agency is unable to announce precise figures due to limitations that Tehran imposes on inspections.
In the report of the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it was recalled that this body does not have access to data from online enrichment monitors and its electronic seal devices.
According to a three-month agreement between Iran and the Agency in Esfand 1399, data related to monitoring enrichment facilities are recorded, but until an agreement is reached on the JCPOA, the information will not be made available to the Agency. This agreement was recently extended for another month, and the Agency has placed nearly two thousand seals on devices so that inspectors can access them remotely.
Rafael Grossi had stated a week earlier in an interview with the Financial Times: “Currently, the level of uranium enrichment in Iran is at a level that only bomb-producing countries reach.” Emphasizing Iran’s right to have a nuclear program, he added that the conventional and commercial enrichment level is two to three percent.
This is the latest in a series of recent months where Grossi has expressed concern about the Islamic Republic approaching the stage of military use of uranium. He also said in mid-March in a conversation with the Japanese newspaper NIKKEI Asia: “It is clear that ensuring the non-military application of Iran’s activities in this situation requires serious inspections.”
Source: DW
