IAEA: Iran significantly increasing uranium enrichment production rate

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi has said that Iran is significantly ramping up its production of uranium. 

"The rate of accumulation of uranium enriched to 60 per cent, which previously averaged 5-7 kg per month, could increase seven, eight times, or even more. To produce nuclear weapons, uranium enriched to at least 90 per cent is required,” Grossi said in an interview with Reuters, Caliber.Az reports. 

On November 29, Iran notified the IAEA about its plan to install around 6,000 new centrifuges at its nuclear facilities in Fordow and Natanz for the production of enriched uranium. Tehran also stated that it intends to enrich uranium up to 5 per cent purity. The maximum enrichment level permitted under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is 3.67 per cent.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed in 2015 by the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) and Iran to resolve the crisis surrounding Iran’s nuclear activities. In 2018, US President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement and reinstated all sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the terms of the JCPOA. 

In response, the Iranian parliament passed the "Strategic Action Plan to Lift Sanctions and Protect the Interests of the Iranian People" in 2020, which led to the reduction of several nuclear commitments, including halting IAEA inspections beyond the safeguards agreement under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The law also prohibited stringent monitoring measures. Iranian authorities maintain that the West must return to full compliance with the terms of the JCPOA to restore existing controls over Tehran's nuclear programme development.

By Naila Huseynova