Iran resumes pace of 60pc uranium enrichment: IAEA

VIENNA: Iran has resumed enriching uranium at a similar rate as at the start of the year, the IAEA said Tuesday, as the country accelerates its nuclear programme while denying it is developing a bomb.

Iran has “increased its production of highly enriched uranium, reversing a previous output reduction from mid-2023”, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement.

Iran has increased its production of 60 percent enriched uranium to a rate of about 9 kilogrammes (20 pounds) a month since the end of November. That’s up from about 3 kilogrammes a month since June, and a return to the 9 kilogrammes a month it was producing during the first half of 2023, the IAEA said.

“On 19 and 24 December, IAEA inspectors verified the rate of production of uranium enriched to this level at the two facilities where Iran is carrying out these activities -- the Natanz Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant and the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant,” it said. Nuclear weapons require uranium enriched to 90 percent, while 3.67 percent is enough for nuclear power stations. In November, a confidential IAEA report seen by AFP indicated that Iran’s enriched uranium stocks were 22 times the limits authorised in the 2015 accord limiting Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for lifting sanctions. That accord fell apart in 2018 when then president Donald Trump pulled out the United States.