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Iran on Saturday announced plans to enrich uranium up to 20% at its Fordow plant amid mounting tensions with the United States in the final days of the Trump administration.
Iranian state television confirmed that Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Civil Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, sent a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) informing him of Tehran’s decision to enrich its uranium a few steps away from weapons. school levels.
The IAEA also confirmed to The Hill that it received the letter and maintained that it will keep a close eye on any development at the Fordow underground facility.
Iran informed the agency that in order to comply with a legal act recently adopted by the country’s parliament, the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization intended to produce low enriched uranium (LEU ) up to 20% at the Fordow fuel enrichment plant. Letter from Iran to the agency, dated [Dec. 31, 2020] did not say when this enrichment activity would take place, ”the agency said.
“The agency has inspectors in Iran 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and they have regular access to Fordow,” he added. “In accordance with standard safeguards practice, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi will report to IAEA Member States as soon as possible, as he has done [Friday] regarding the letter from Iran.
Iran’s decision to further enrich its uranium comes amid growing friction with Washington and fears that Tehran is considering some sort of military action in the Middle East in the coming days.
Two Air Force B-52 Stratofortresses flew from Minot Air Force Base, ND, to the Persian Gulf this week in an attempt to deliver “a clear deterrent message to anyone intending to harm Americans or American interests, ”according to US Central Commander. The flights marked the third such mission in 45 days.
The U.S. Central Command has not identified Iran as the source of its concerns, but speculation has circulated that Tehran may be planning some sort of strike via its proxy forces across the region to commemorate the first anniversary of the country. murder of Qassem Soleimani on January 3. The Iranian general during an American airstrike in Iraq.
A senior US military official told Fox News that a US intelligence report suggests Iran wants to “avenge this murder” and that it has “the potential for other more complex attacks” against Americans in Iraq.
“We are planning to plan, especially in Iraq, complex attacks that require Iranian assistance to be successful,” the official said.
President Trump
Donald Trump Trump calls Georgia Senate second round ‘both illegal and invalid’ in New Year’s tweets Judge dismisses Gohmert’s election lawsuit against Pence Former GOP senator suggests forming new party and calls Trump the Republicans’ “ master of the track ” MORE Withdrew the United States from the Obama-era nuclear pact with Iran in 2018. The pact placed limits on Tehran’s ability to enrich its uranium in return for sanctions relief.
Democrats have widely hailed the deal as an effective tool to curb Iran’s nuclear program, but Trump and Republicans have long criticized it as insufficient because it does not cover Tehran’s missile program or its relationship with a range of proxy forces across the Middle East who fought against the United States. troops.
Iran is already in violation of the deal, enriching uranium to 4.5%, which is above the deal’s 3.67% limit. However, jumping to 20% would be a marked escalation, given that uranium enriched to this level could easily be turned into military grade material.
Saturday’s announcement could be an attempt to put pressure on the president-elect Joe biden
Joe BidenTrump calls Georgia Senate runoff ‘both illegal and invalid’ in New Years tweets Judge dismisses Gohmert’s election lawsuit against Pence Former GOP senator suggests forming new party and calls Trump the ‘master of Republicans’ – a warning that Tehran could continue its enrichment if Biden does not keep his promise to restart negotiations for a nuclear deal.
Fordow’s facility was first revealed in 2009, alarming international experts that the site, which is armed with anti-aircraft guns and other fortifications, could have military purposes.
The US military began making bunker buster bombs designed to destroy such facilities after the disclosure, and, with Israel, launched a complex cyber attack on nuclear facilities in 2010 after Tehran first decided to ” enrich uranium to 20%.
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