According to a classified assessment by the UN nuclear inspector, Iran has significantly expanded its uranium-enriched stockpile to levels close to weapons-grade levels. The agency urged Tehran to immediately reverse its conduct and cooperate with its years-long investigation in a different report.
The study is released during a delicate period as US President Donald Trump’s administration tries to negotiate an agreement with Tehran to curtail its nuclear program. Despite many rounds of negotiations, the two parties have not yet reached a consensus. Iran has accumulated 408.6 kilogrammes of uranium enriched up to 60% as of May 17, according to the Vienna-based IAEA assessment, which The Associated Press has seen.
Iran is now “the only non-nuclear-weapon state to produce such material,” according to the IAEA assessment, which is a dire warning and a matter of “serious concern. The watchdog claims that if uranium is further enriched to 90%, about 42 kilogrammes of 60% enriched uranium would theoretically be sufficient to create one atomic weapon.
According to the quarterly IAEA report, Iran’s total enriched uranium stockpile, which includes uranium enriched to lesser levels, was assessed to be 9,247.6 kilogrammes as of May 17. Since the February report, that is a 953.2 kilogramme gain.
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