(Vienna) Iran has returned in recent weeks to a rate of production of uranium enriched to 60% similar to that of the beginning of the year, continuing its nuclear escalation even if it denies wanting to acquire the bomb, said the IAEA said on Tuesday.
“The country has increased its production of highly enriched uranium in recent weeks, after slowing the pace since mid-2023,” the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. in a press release.
Iran has increased its production of 60% enriched uranium to around 9 kg per month since the end of November, which “represents an increase from the approximately 3 kg produced per month since June and a return to monthly rate of 9 kg during the first half of 2023,” she said.
Slowing the pace of production to 60%, a threshold close to the 90% needed to make an atomic bomb, was seen by experts as a gesture, while informal talks had resumed with the United States.
In recent months, however, animosity has risen a notch with the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Hamas, which Washington and Tehran mutually accuse each other of aggravating.
In November, a confidential IAEA report consulted by AFP indicated that stocks of enriched uranium in Iran exceeded by 22 times the limit authorized by the 2015 international agreement governing Tehran’s atomic activities, in exchange for a lifting of international sanctions.
The agreement fell apart following the withdrawal from Washington in 2018 decided by the US president at the time, Donald Trump.
His successor Joe Biden tried to revive him through discussions held in Vienna, but they have been at a standstill since the summer of 2022.
Iran, which has moved closer to Moscow since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has also excluded IAEA inspectors and disconnected cameras necessary for monitoring its nuclear program.
It enriches at levels far from the cap set by the international community at 3.67%, equivalent to what is used in nuclear power plants for electricity production.
In November, it had 567.1 kg enriched at 20% and 128.3 kg at 60%. That is more than three times the material theoretically needed to make an atomic bomb, at a level of 90%.