UN agency: Iran is continuing with uranium enrichment

2023-11-15 21:24:23, Kosova & Bota CNA

Iran has enriched uranium to 60 percent purity. This level of purity is close to what is required to make three nuclear bombs, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.

Tehran still continues to obstruct the work of this United Nations agency, the agency said in a report.

Iran's stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent has increased by 6.7 kilograms to 128.3 kilograms since the last report on September 4, the confidential report seen by Reuters said. This is three times higher than the 42 kilograms that the International Atomic Energy Agency says is theoretically enough, if further enriched, to create a nuclear bomb.

In the report, the agency said there was still no progress on two pressing issues: allowing more monitoring devices to be reinstalled after they left Tehran last year, and getting answers about the origin of uranium fragments found in two undeclared nuclear sites.

This is the second time that this UN agency reports that there has been no progress in any of these issues.

Also, the International Atomic Energy Agency said it has not succeeded in persuading Iran to lift restrictions it placed in September on some of the agency's inspectors. This ban prevents inspectors from carrying out their work in Iran.

World powers and Iran reached a nuclear deal in 2015 that provided for the easing of international sanctions in exchange for curbs on Tehran's nuclear program.

But, the United States in 2018 withdrew from the agreement and Iran then began not to implement the conditions set out in the agreement.

Iran insists that it is not seeking to create nuclear weapons, stressing that its nuclear program has civilian purposes./ REL