Iran starts 60% uranium enrichment
started 60% uranium enrichment at Natanz nuclear facility on Friday, days after an incident at the site that Tehran blamed on Israel and called “nuclear terrorism.”
A top official said only a few grams an hour of uranium gas would be enriched up to 60% purity – triple the level it once did but at a rate far slower than what Tehran could produce. International inspectors already said Iran planned to do so above-ground at its Natanz nuclear site, not deep within its underground halls hardened to withstand airstrikes.
The move is likely to raise tensions even as Iran negotiates in Vienna over a way to allow the United States back into the agreement and lift the crushing economic sanctions it faces. However, its scope also provides Iran with a way to quickly de-escalate if it chose.
The announcement also marks a significant escalation after the attack that damaged centrifuges at Natanz, an attack this past weekend suspected of having been carried out by Israel. While Israel has yet to claim it, it comes amid a long-running shadow war between the two Middle East rivals.
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker, announced the move in a Twitter post later acknowledged by Iranian state television.
“The young and God-believing Iranian scientists managed to achieve a 60% enriched uranium product,” Qalibaf said. “I congratulate the brave nation of Islamic Iran on this success. The Iranian nation’s willpower is miraculous and can defuse any conspiracy.”
The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the country’s civilian nuclear arm, later acknowledged the move to 60%, according to state TV.
Ali Akbar Salehi said the centrifuges now produce 9 grams an hour, but that would drop to 5 grams an hour in the coming days. “Now, any enrichment (level) is possible if we decide it,” Salehi said. State TV later referred to the decision as a “show of power against terrorist rascality.” It wasn’t clear why the first announcement came from Qalibaf, a hard-line former leader in the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard already named as a potential presidential candidate in Iran’s upcoming June election.
While 60% is higher than any level Iran previously enriched uranium, it is still lower than weapons-grade levels of 90%. Iran had been enriching up to 20% – even that was a short technical step to weapons grade. The deal limited Iran’s enrichment to 3.67%.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which monitors Iran’s nuclear program, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier this week, it sent its inspectors to Natanz and confirmed Iran was preparing to begin 60% enrichment at an above-ground facility at the site.