Iran slightly slowed its production of uranium at 60% purity –close to the military use level of 90%.-but it has continued to accumulate more material and now has 182.3 kilograms, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Tuesday. In a confidential report to which Efe has had access, the IAEA informs that this slowdown does not appear to be accidental and it is suggested that Iran has begun preparations to stop enrichment at that level.
“On November 16, 2024, the Agency verified (…) that Iran had begun to implement preparatory measures to halt the buildup of its 60% enriched uranium inventory,” the document states, adding that the IAEA will continue to communicate with Iran on this issue. The production of uranium purified to 60%, the one that generates the most international concern, increased by just over 10% compared to Augustcompared to 16% in the previous quarter.
Nevertheless, the IAEA is concerned that Iran is continuing its highly enriched uranium production program and recalls that it is the “only non-nuclear-weapon state to do so.”. In the document, the IAEA states that Tehran produced 17.6 kilograms of 60% uranium and 25.3 kilograms of 20% uranium in the past three months, in violation of the nuclear agreement signed in 2015 with five world powers (UK, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US) to limit its nuclear program in exchange for lifting certain sanctions.
The Islamic Republic began violating the nuclear deal in 2019 in response to the. exit a year early from the U.S. pact.during the first administration of Donald Trump (2017-2021). In its conclusions, the IAEA stresses, “It is important to continue consultations on the possibility of Iran not further expanding its stockpile of 60 percent enriched uranium, including the necessary technical verification measures.” IAEA Director Rafel Grossi met for the first time last week with the government that emerged from the elections held in Iran last summer, in an attempt to to resume contacts to dispel doubts that the Iranian atomic program has or has had military objectives.
Iran has violated the terms of the 2015 nuclear pact by increasing uranium enrichment to 60% (well above the 3.67% limit permitted), accumulating uranium stockpiles some 30 times higher than authorized and reactivating previously restricted nuclear facilities. It has also made it difficult for the IAEA to monitor its nuclear program since 2021. Iran claims that its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful, while the West maintains that there is no credible civilian justification for the scale of Iran’s atomic ambitions.
Experts agree that it is much more complex to enrich uranium from 3 to 60% than from the latter figure to the 90% needed to power a nuclear warhead. According to the Institute for Science and International Security, a reference center in the analysis of nuclear programs, Iran’s so-called “breakout time”, i.e. the time required to enrich uranium from 3 to 60%, is much more complex than the 90% needed to feed a nuclear warhead. to produce enough fissile material (90% enriched uranium) to make a nuclear weapon, has been reduced to zero. This means that Iran currently has the capacity to enrich uranium for a nuclear weapon. in a very short periodusing its already available reserves and technology.
The IAEA repeats once again in its document on Tuesday that its “verification and monitoring” of Iran’s nuclear program has been severely affected by Iran’s suspension of its compliance with its commitments to the nuclear pact. Iran’s decision to withdraw all of the IAEA’s monitoring equipment “has had detrimental implications for ensuring the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program,” the IAEA summarizes the situation.