Iran to begin 60% uranium enrichment
DISCLOSURE SHOWS IRAN’S SERIOUSNESS FOR TALKS: US
Iran will begin enriching uranium to 60 per cent purity, a top official said yesterday, far exceeding its current level, in a defiant move following an attack on one of its key nuclear sites, Iranian news agencies reported.
Iran’s state-run Press TV quoted Iran’s lead nuclear negotiator, Abbas Araghchi, as saying the country informed the International Atomic Energy Agency of plans to start 60 per cent uranium enrichment.
The announcement puts Iran closer to weapons-grade levels of more than 90 per cent enrichment and exceeds its current top level of 20 per cent. The move adds another major hurdle to negotiations to revive a 2015 nuclear deal negotiated between Iran and six world powers.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the US takes seriously Iran’s “provocative announcement,” saying it “calls into question Iran’s seriousness with regard to the nuclear talks and underscores the imperative of returning to mutual compliance” with the deal.
Talks were set to reconvene in Vienna tomorrow between Tehran and the world powers, including the US. After an initial meeting last week, both Tehran and Washington characterised the negotiations — held indirectly, with European members of the deal shuttling between US and Iranian delegations — as constructive. The talks in Vienna are aimed at reviving America’s role in that agreement, which former President Donald Trump abandoned, and lifting the sanctions he imposed.
Fears of a spiraling and incendiary conflict
Iran’s announcement of stepped-up enrichment appeared to show it was eager to use the Natanz attack as further leverage in the negotiations. In his comments, Araghchi said that another 1,000 centrifuges with 50 per cent more capacity would be deployed at Natanz, in addition to the replacement of the damaged centrifuges.
The attack laid bare the abundance of obstacles facing diplomats in Vienna . Negotiators are concerned that Iran’s upcoming election in June will probably usher in a hard line government that may be less disposed to dealmaking. Now, the events of recent days have added fears of a spiralling and incendiary conflict between Iran and Israel, which is opposed to the 2015 nuclear deal.
A dangerous, escalatory cycle is in play
Last week, as the Vienna talks got underway, an Iranian ship in the Red Sea was crippled by an explosion that Iranian officials said was caused by mines.
Then came Sunday’s attack on the Natanz nuclear facility.
“The Natanz incident demonstrates in clear terms that spoilers are intent on disrupting talks aimed at reviving US-Iran diplomacy,” said Suzanne DiMaggio, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “A dangerous, escalatory cycle is in play.”
The longer it takes to reach an agreement in Vienna on how to return to the deal, she said, the more the likelihood of derailment increases.