According to a study released by the UN nuclear watchdog on Wednesday, Iran’s stock of uranium that has been enriched to up to 60%, or close to weapons-grade, has increased to the point where it might produce a nuclear bomb if further enhanced.
Passing that point marks a significant turning point in the unravelling of the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and major world powers, which limited Iran’s ability to enrich uranium to 3.67% purity, well below the 20% it had attained prior to the agreement and the roughly 90% that is weapons grade.
Tehran violated the deal’s nuclear constraints as a result of Washington’s departure from the agreement under then-President Donald Trump and its reimposition of sanctions against Tehran that had been eased as part of the agreement.
When asked if Iran had enough material enriched to 60% for one bomb, the senior diplomat responded, ‘Iran now has the ability to produce 25 kg (of uranium) at 90% if they want to.’ This statement was made in response to a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
According to the report, Iran’s stock of uranium that has been enriched to a level of 60% is believed to be 55.6 kg, up 12.5 kg from the previous quarterly report. This uranium is in the form of uranium hexafluoride, which is the gas that centrifuges use to enrich it.
The diplomat estimated that if Iran chose to, it would take three to four weeks to develop enough material for a bomb, and that it would take the IAEA two to three days to notice a shift in that direction. Iran denies having such plans.
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