Iran enriched uranium beyond what was agreed in nuclear deal and limited independent inspections

The head of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said on Monday in a report that it is “concerned” because Iran did not clarify doubts at several sites where there could have been undeclared nuclear activity.

In the report, which the agency was able to consult AFP, the UN nuclear watchdog further emphasizes that Iran’s reserves of enriched uranium exceed 16 times the limit allowed by the 2015 international agreement on the Iranian nuclear program.

According to the report, Iran enriches uranium in quantity and purity well above what was agreed in the 2015 nuclear pact, while greatly limits international inspections, all without answering concrete doubts about his past activities, he criticized the United Nations atomic agency.

In its latest report, published in A, the IAEA clarifies that Iran currently has 3,241 kilos of enriched uranium, a 9.2% more than in February, with a few kilos of this material with a purity of 60%, a value close to that needed to make atomic bombs.

On the other hand, the IAEA criticizes as “deeply disturbing“Let Iran continue without answering questions about the presence of fiable material at three facilities not declared nuclear to date, which affects their ability to provide assurances about the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program.

The United Nations agency has for some time evidence of the presence of nuclear fingerprints in various facilities, without receiving explanations from the Iranian side. To clarify this situation, the IAEA agreed in February on a conversation agenda with his Iranian interlocutors, who have not yet given the expected results so far, regrets the report published today.

This lack of transparency can be a violation of Iran’s nuclear safeguard agreements with the IAEA, apart from the 2015 atomic accord. According to this pact, known as JCPOA (in its acronym in English), Iran should not have more than 300 kilograms of enriched uranium, a possible dual-use material, civil and military.

Limited inspections

In an attempt to put pressure on the United States in negotiations to reinstate the JCPOA, Iran has kept IAEA inspections on its territory to a minimum since February 23. These limitations push inspectors to check Iranian activities. only with a certain lag, a diplomatic source familiar with IAEA activities in Iran told reporters in Vienna.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic you do not apply the so-called “additional protocol” of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which allows for unannounced inspections at any facility in the country. This special permit was an integral part of the JCPOA, which Iran has not granted since last February.

Negotiations to save the JCPOA

This is all happening in the midst of the negotiations of the JCPOA countries (Russia, China, Germany, UK, France and USA, indirectly) to restore the agreement, which has been held since the beginning of April at A. The former American president, Republican Donald Trump abandoned the deal in 2018 to impose new sanctions on Iran.

The nuclear pact set limits on Iran’s nuclear development in return for the lifting of international sanctions, a balance that upset the US exit from the JCPOA. The Iranians, for their part, are violating much of the agreement, especially in terms of access to inspectors and the amount and purity of enriched uranium.

The new president of the USA, Democrat Joe Biden, wants to return to the deal, but first it demands that Iran fulfill its obligations. Meanwhile, the Iranians are demanding that the United States first lift its sanctions, including an oil embargo. The Vienna negotiations are looking for a mechanism allowing a simultaneous return of Iran and the United States to the JCPOA.

With information from EFE and Reuters

Read on: