Iran plans "significant" expansion of uranium enrichment - concerns about military use

Created: 11/23/2022, 11:32 p.m

By: Kathrin Reikowski

After the US exit, Iran has expanded its nuclear facilities again, produced near-weapons-grade uranium and restricted international inspections.

© Majid Asgaripour/AP/dpa

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran wants to significantly expand uranium enrichment.

Germany and Co. see no civil reasons for use.

Vienna - There is a great cause for concern: what is happening to uranium in a state that controls its own population massively, brutally suppresses protests and is increasingly isolating itself internationally?

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran wants to significantly expand uranium enrichment.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi confirmed to the organization's member states in a report on Tuesday that the Islamic Republic had started producing uranium with a purity of 60 percent at a second site.

In addition to the move at the Fordo underground facility, Tehran also plans to "significantly expand" low-enriched uranium there, an IAEA spokesman said.

A dispute over the nuclear program has been smoldering between the United States and Iran in particular for years.

So far, Iran had already produced a quantity of 60 percent uranium at a plant in Natanz, which theoretically would be more than enough to be processed into weapons-grade material for a nuclear warhead with relatively little effort.

Tehran denies pursuing such plans.

Iran's nuclear program: West sees "no civilian justification" for nuclear technology

For the expansion of Iran's nuclear program, there is "no civilian justification," said Germany, France and Great Britain in a joint statement on Tuesday evening.

The step harbors a "significant risk" of military use of nuclear technology.

According to the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency (AEOI), the latest developments are a reaction to a resolution by the IAEA Board of Governors last week that Tehran condemned as politically motivated.

The IAEA steering committee accused the country of a lack of transparency with regard to its nuclear program and indirectly threatened to involve the UN Security Council.

According to the Vienna nuclear treaty, Iran is not allowed to enrich its uranium by more than four percent

After the US pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, Tehran had begun to break the restrictions agreed in the deal known as the JCPOA and make IAEA controls more difficult.

According to the Vienna Nuclear Treaty of 2015, Iran is not allowed to enrich its uranium by more than four percent.

Iran's announcement comes as the regime faces a possible revolution.

Negotiations to restore the pact have been on hold for months.

"Iran has taken further significant steps to undermine the JCPOA," said Berlin, Paris and London on Tuesday.

Read here how the Iranian regime tortures imprisoned women, especially during the protests.