Gaza (Washington Insider Magazine)— According to recent reports, Iran has accelerated uranium enrichment. It led to a rise in Tension between Washington and Tehran amid the Israel-Gaza war. The United States has conveyed deep worry over information that Iran has accelerated its development of weapons-grade uranium.
The remarks from a White House National Security Council spokesperson came late on Tuesday in reaction to a report issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The report warned that Tehran has accelerated the development of high-grade materials.
“Iran’s nuclear escalation is all the more concerning at a time when Iran-backed proxies continue their dangerous and destabilizing activities in the region, including the recent deadly drone attack and other attempted attacks in Iraq and Syria and the Houthi attacks against commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea,” the US spokesperson expressed.
The United Nations atomic watchdog’s report to member states stated that Iran had raised the rate at which it is producing near weapons-grade uranium in recent weeks, switching a previous deceleration that started in mid-2023.
Iran had earlier delayed the rate at which it was enriching uranium – raising uranium-235, the isotope used in nuclear fission – to 60 % purity. Uranium enriched at 60 percent is just a grade away from weapons-grade levels of 90 percent. Nuclear power stations need only 3.67 percent.
The IAEA stated its inspectors had confirmed the increased production rate since the end of November at facilities in Natanz and Fordow to about 9kg (20lb) per month. Iran maintained the same production level in the first half of 2023 before dropping to 3kg (6.6lb) monthly in June.
On Wednesday, Iran’s atomic energy chief rejected the concern, pressing that Iran has done “nothing new” and is operating “according to the rules.”
On Wednesday, Iran’s atomic energy chief, Mohammad Eslami, disregarded the IAEA warnings, according to Iranian media.
“We did nothing new and are doing the same activities according to the rules,” he stated.
Iranian officials have consistently commented they have no plans or preferences regarding the development of nuclear weapons.
Iran seemed to have slowed its enrichment program earlier this year as a motion as informal discussions with the US over a nuclear treaty renewed. However, the Israel-Gaza war has increased tensions between Washington and Tehran.
A confidential IAEA report published last month revealed that Iran’s calculated stockpile of enriched uranium had gained more than 22 times the limit set out in a 2015 agreement between Tehran and world powers, restricting Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for removing sanctions.
Iran’s total enriched uranium stockpile was calculated at 4,486.8kg (9,891.7lb) as of October 28, up by 693.1 kilograms (1,528lb) from August, the report stated. The limit in the 2015 deal was placed at 202.8kg (447lb).
The accord was known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. It is also generally comprehended as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal. It was signed in Vienna on 14 July 2015 between Iran, the P5+1, and the European Union. The P5+1 includes China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union (EU), and Iran. It was aimed to ensure that Iran’s nuclear program would be solely peaceful.
However, that deal fell apart in 2018 when then-president Donald Trump dragged the US out. President Joe Biden has attempted to revive the agreement through talks in Vienna, but the process has stopped since the summer of 2022.
Resistance was already on the rise ahead of Hamas’s October 7 assault on Israel, with Iran showing support to Russia’s attack on Ukraine. In September, the IAEA complained that Tehran had blocked several of its most skilled inspectors from observing the country’s nuclear program.