Nuclear: Iran resumes high rate of uranium production at 60%, according to the IAEA

Europe 1 with AFP / Credits: ATOMIC ENERGY ORGANIZATION OF IRAN / AFP 15:29 p.m., December 26, 2023

Iran has returned in recent weeks to a rate of production of uranium enriched to 60 percent similar to that of the beginning of the year, continuing its nuclear escalation, even though it denies that it wants to acquire the bomb, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Tuesday. "The country has increased its production of highly enriched uranium in recent weeks, while it had slowed the pace since mid-2023," the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement.

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An increase since the end of November

Iran has increased its production of uranium enriched to 60% to about 9 kg per month since the end of November, which "represents an increase from the approximately 3 kg produced per month since June and a return to the monthly rate of 9 kg in the first half of 2023", it said.

Slowing the production rate to 60 percent, a threshold close to the 90 percent needed to make an atomic bomb, was seen by experts as a gesture, as informal talks resumed with the United States. In recent months, however, animosity has escalated after Hamas' attack on Israel, which Washington and Tehran accuse each other of escalating.

Joe Biden has tried to revive the talks

In November, a confidential IAEA report seen by AFP indicated that Iran's stockpiles of enriched uranium exceeded the limit allowed by the 22 international agreement governing Tehran's atomic activities by 2015 times, in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. The deal fell apart following Washington's withdrawal in 2018 by then-US President Donald Trump.

His successor Joe Biden tried to revive it via talks in Vienna, but they have been stalled since the summer of 2022. Iran, which has moved closer to Moscow since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has also expelled IAEA inspectors and disconnected cameras needed to monitor its nuclear program.

It enriches to levels far from the cap set by the international community at 3.67%, equivalent to what is used in nuclear power plants for electricity generation. In November, he had 567.1 kg enriched to 20% and 128.3 kg to 60%. That's more than three times the material theoretically needed to make an atomic bomb, at a level of 90%.