Iran's stockpile of 60% enriched uranium has doubled since December, potentially enough to produce six nuclear bombs.
Points of attention
- Iran has doubled its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60%, enough to potentially produce six nuclear bombs, sparking concerns among Western powers.
- The significant increase in production of highly enriched uranium by Iran contradicts its claim of peaceful use of nuclear energy and is causing alarm within the international community.
- The IAEA reports show a doubling of highly enriched uranium in Iran, while unresolved issues like the unexplained presence of uranium traces at undeclared sites persist.
Iran has doubled its stockpile of highly enriched uranium since December
This is stated in two confidential IAEA reports.
One report says that Iran's stockpile of 60% enriched uranium in the form of uranium hexafluoride has increased by 92.5 kg from the previous quarter to 274.8 kg.
In principle, this is enough, with further enrichment, to produce six nuclear bombs, according to IAEA criteria. However, at lower levels of enrichment, this amount would be enough for a larger number of weapons.
Iran previously produced 6 to 9 kilograms of 60 percent enriched uranium per month, but now it is producing 35 to 45 kilograms, a senior diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity. That is slightly less than the 42 kilograms that would be enough for one bomb if further enrichment were carried out.
It is noted that the stockpiles of uranium enriched to 60%, which is close to 90% weapons-grade, have long been a concern for Western powers, who say that enriching uranium to such a high level has no civilian justification. Meanwhile, Iran claims that it seeks only the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
The significant increase in the production and accumulation of highly enriched uranium by Iran, the only non-nuclear state producing such nuclear material, is of serious concern, the IAEA said in a statement included in both of the agency's quarterly reports on Iran.
IAEA reports showed that despite a doubling of highly enriched uranium, no real progress had been made in resolving long-standing issues, including the unexplained presence of traces of uranium at undeclared sites in Iran.
One of the reports states that Iran's statements about its declared nuclear activities are inconsistent with the Agency's assessments.