Tehran denies changing its enrichment targets, after media reports it was producing ‘almost’ weapons-grade equipment
Tehran has dismissed as misleading a Bloomberg report that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was investigating how the country enriched uranium “at levels just below those needed for a nuclear weapon.”
The news agency quoted two unnamed diplomats, who claimed that the UN nuclear watchdog had found 84% pure uranium, or “only 6% below what is needed for a weapon” in Iran, Bloomberg explained in its Sunday article.
In response on Monday, Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said the article was “defamation and distortion of facts”.
“The presence of uranium particles greater than 60% during the enrichment process does not mean an enrichment greater than 60%”, he told the IRNA news agency, saying that by publishing the story, Bloomberg was serving as a tool of anti-Iranian pressure.
Bloomberg, however, acknowledged the possibility that the sample was found after an unintentional accumulation in a cascade of enrichment centrifuges.
The IAEA commented on the news saying it was “discuss with Iran the results of the Agency’s recent verification activities” and report the results to its Board of Governors, as appropriate.
Iran agreed to impose restrictions on its nuclear industry, including enrichment activities, as part of a 2015 deal with world powers. The deal was torpedoed by US President Donald Trump, who stepped down in 2018 to pursue a so-called “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign.
Iran has finally started to backtrack on its commitments and announced that it would enrich uranium to 60% purity at its Natanz facility in 2021 and at the Fordo site in 2022.
The nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, has been touted as a way to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, an ambition Tehran denies it has.
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