IAEA inspectors discover uranium enriched to 84 percent in Iran

IInspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have, according to a media report, found uranium in Iran with a degree of purity that is just below the level needed to build an atomic bomb. The uranium was enriched to 84 percent, reports the Bloomberg news agency, citing two diplomatic sources. Uranium enriched to around 90 percent is required to build atomic bombs.

The inspectors would have to determine whether Iran produced the material intentionally or whether the concentration is the result of unintentional accumulation, Bloomberg further reports. The IAEA said on Sunday on Twitter that it was aware of the media report. The organization is holding talks with Iran on the “results of recent verification activities.”

Trump was against agreements

In the currently suspended international nuclear agreement with Iran, a threshold of 3.67 percent was agreed for uranium enrichment in 2015. It was recently known that Tehran is producing uranium enriched to 60 percent, which is considerably more than provided for in the nuclear agreement.

Negotiations on reviving the international nuclear deal with Iran, which began in April 2021, have been stuck for months. The agreement was intended to limit Iran’s nuclear program and ensure that the country would not build nuclear weapons. It was negotiated by the United States, China, Russia, Germany, France, Great Britain and Iran.

Under the then American President donald trump However, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and imposed new sanctions on Tehran. As a result, Iran gradually withdrew from its obligations and restricted the inspections of its facilities by the IAEA.