IAEA: Iran's 60% enriched uranium stockpile approaching the amount needed to build a nuclear bomb
The International Atomic Energy Agency says that Iran's stockpile of 60 percent enriched uranium has increased to a level that, if further enriched, would be sufficient to produce a nuclear bomb.
In its quarterly report prepared for the IAEA Board of Governors, the international organization added on Wednesday, September 6: "Compared to the previous three months, at the end of May, Iran has increased its 60 percent enriched uranium reserves from 12.5 kilograms to 55.6 kilograms."
To make a nuclear bomb, a certain volume of uranium is required and its concentration increased to 90%.
The IAEA says Iran is close to the volume needed to produce a nuclear bomb.
The report further adds that Iran's low-enriched uranium reserves are also 19 times higher than the virtual limit set in the July 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The Agency adds that Iran had stockpiled about 3,940 kilograms of low-enriched uranium as of August 21 this year, which is about 132 kilograms more than in May this year.
The international body further stated that Iran has not yet provided a convincing and credible answer about the origin of the uranium disclosed at its three undeclared sites: The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency is "increasingly" concerned about Iran's lack of engagement on safeguards issues and the lack of progress in clarifying the origin of the uranium in question.
The Agency's emphasis on the need for Iran to respond to the origin of uranium found at its three undeclared sites comes at a time when Islamic Republic officials have recently made the revival of the JCPOA subject to several conditions, including the closure of the safeguards file.
Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said on September 29 that "due to sanctions," the International Atomic Energy Agency's demands on Iran are "excessive."
Washington has warned that Tehran should not link the issue of the Agency's investigation of nuclear materials and undeclared locations to a possible agreement to revive the JCPOA, but Nasser Kanani, spokesman for the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced on September 4 that "closing the file on safeguards issues in the negotiations process" is part of the "guarantee" that the Islamic Republic is pursuing to make this possible agreement "stronger."
Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has repeatedly warned in recent months that Tehran is not cooperating on the origin of uranium discovered at undeclared sites in Iran.
In recent months, a resolution in this regard has also been adopted by the Agency's Board of Governors.
Source: Radio Farda
