Iran agrees to stricter oversight at Fordow enrichment facility IAEA reports

Iran has consented to heightened monitoring by the UN nuclear watchdog at its Fordow facility, located within a mountain, after significantly ramping up uranium enrichment to near weapons-grade levels.

Last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Iran had accelerated its enrichment at Fordow to as high as 60 per cent purity, approaching the 90 per cent required for weapons-grade uranium. This move was seen by Western powers as a major escalation in the ongoing nuclear standoff between Iran and the international community, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

At that time, the IAEA announced that it would discuss the implementation of stricter safeguards, including more frequent inspections, at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), one of two sites where Iran is enriching uranium to such high levels.

In a confidential report to member states, the IAEA confirmed that Iran had agreed to increase the frequency and intensity of safeguards at the Fordow facility and is cooperating with the implementation of these enhanced measures.

By raising the enrichment level of the uranium hexafluoride feedstock at Fordow from 5 per cent to up to 20 per cent for centrifuges already operating at 60 per cent, Iran has significantly accelerated its production of uranium at the highest enrichment levels.

The IAEA now projects that Fordow could produce over 34 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 per cent per month—roughly six times the amount previously being produced at both Fordow and the Natanz pilot plant.

According to IAEA standards, around 42 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 per cent would be sufficient, with further enrichment, for a nuclear weapon. Iran currently holds more than four times that amount, with additional quantities at lower enrichment levels.

While Iran maintains that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful and denies any intentions of developing a nuclear weapon, Western powers argue that there is no legitimate civil justification for enriching uranium to such high levels, noting that no other country has done so without pursuing a nuclear weapon.

By Vafa Guliyeva