Iran | New confrontation with US – uranium enriched to 20%

Defence Redefined

05/01/2021

Iran is producing uranium enriched to 20%, said the spokesman of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Behrooz Kamalvandi, in an interview broadcast today on state television.

“At around 7 pm (17:30 Monday, Cyprus time) we reached 20%,” Kamalvandi said in the interview.

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In a report released by the Fars news agency, the head of the Atomic Energy Agency of Iran, Mr. Ali Akbar Salehi, announced on the 1st of January that “under a new law passed by Parliament, we intend to start 20% uranium enrichment at the Fordow plant.”

He also said that the Atomic Energy Agency of Iran has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency of its intention to enrich uranium in purity five times higher than previously agreed under a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) with the West.

Both actions took place a day after the one-year anniversary of the assassination of top Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani, by the US and less than three weeks before the end of the presidency of Donald Trump.

Seeing the developments, the Pentagon changed its decision to withdraw the USS Nimitz from the Persian Gulf.

Iran is currently enriching its uranium stock by up to about 4.5%, which exceeds the 3.67% threshold imposed by the 2015 pact with world powers, but is nevertheless much lower than the 90% which is considered a weapon. Iran has consistently denied that it is seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

The State Department condemned both the seizure of the tankers and the resumption of uranium enrichment in Iran, with the Foreign Ministry spokesman noting that “Iran’s enrichment program was originally developed secretly, including Fordow, and Iran kept a record from the previous nuclear weapons program, along with many of the key executives leading this project.”

“The United States and the rest of the international community will evaluate Iran’s actions in light of this provocative story,” said the spokesman.

Also read: Moscow calls for an extraordinary UN Security Council meeting on Iran, international reactions

With information from: CNA / CNN / VOX