Iran continues to accumulate uranium and block two sites

TEHRAN: Iran remains adamant in the face of concerns over its nuclear activities: the stockpile of enriched uranium accumulated by the country continues to grow and Tehran continues to block the inspection of two old sites, the IAEA said on Friday.

This posture complicates efforts to try to save the framework of the 2015 international agreement on Iranian nuclear power, which the United States closed in 2018 and from which Tehran has been gradually withdrawing since May 2019.

According to the latest report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the amount of low-enriched uranium accumulated by Tehran reached on May 20 1,571.6 kilos for an authorized limit of 202.8 kilos (or 300 kilos equivalent UF6). In the previous report dating back to February, this stock was 1,020.9 kg.

In response to the reinstatement of American sanctions, Tehran is therefore continuing its uranium production trajectory, which now exceeds the threshold set by the agreement signed with the major powers by almost eight times.

Experts estimate that the quantity required to make a nuclear bomb is around 1,050 kilos of UF6 equivalent uranium with low enrichment of less than 5%, a threshold that Tehran has exceeded since the beginning of the year.

Contrary to the obligations enshrined in the pact intended to drastically limit its nuclear activities, Iran also produces enriched uranium at a rate of 4.5%, above the threshold of 3.67% set by the agreement, according to the report consulted by AFP.

The enrichment rate has not increased since July 2019, however, and is still very far from the threshold required for the manufacture of an atomic bomb (over 90%).

Iran had announced in January that it no longer considered itself bound by the obligations listed in the Vienna agreement, which could raise fears of the transition to a 20% enrichment rate.

This step would have considerably accelerated the process which could lead to the manufacture of a bomb.