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Iran has quadrupled its reserves of highly enriched uranium in recent years, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing a quarterly report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
International observers are “increasingly alarmed” by Iran’s nuclear activities, the newspaper said. According to the report, Iran now has 10 kg of highly enriched (up to 60%) uranium at its disposal, while in May this year it was about 2.4 kg. The reserves of uranium enriched by 20% also increased – from 62.8 kg to 84.3 kg, transfers Interfax.
The IAEA also notes that the Iranian authorities are hindering verification of their activities within the framework of the nuclear program. In particular, international experts found traces of uranium at three facilities that were not included in the list of enterprises controlled by the IAEA. The Iranians are not responding to inquiries sent in this regard, informs Reuters.
In 2015, Iran and the “six” countries (five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) signed a nuclear agreement – a joint comprehensive plan of action for the Iranian nuclear deal (JCPOA), according to which the republic should allow IAEA inspectors to its nuclear facilities in exchange for a step-by-step removal sanctions.
In May 2018, the United States withdrew from the JCPOA and resumed anti-Iranian sanctions. A year later, Iran announced a phased reduction in its obligations under the JCPOA. Among these steps was Tehran’s refusal to export surplus enriched uranium.
At the end of February 2021, Iran restricted access for IAEA inspectors to nuclear facilities they inspected under the JCPOA. Then, on February 21, the parties entered into a three-month agreement to continue some of the inspections. In May, these agreements were extended for another month.
Since May 22, Iran has denied the IAEA access to data collected by cameras inside nuclear facilities, and has threatened to delete videos of the past three months.
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