Iran Announces 60% Uranium Enrichment at Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani announced on Sunday that Tehran had informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of its decision to start enriching uranium to 60% purity at Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant in November 2022. The statement was made in response to a joint statement by the United States, Britain, France, and Germany, which accused Iran of not meeting its nuclear obligations as shown in a recent IAEA report.
According to Kanaani, Iran informed the IAEA of its uranium enrichment on November 17, 2022, and all modes of enrichment were mentioned in the design information questionnaire (DIQ) submitted to the agency. He stated that no new or contradictory measures had been implemented at the facility compared to November’s DIQ.
However, the IAEA criticized Iran for making an “undeclared change” to the interconnection between the advanced machines enriching uranium at the Fordow plant. The spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Behrouz Kamalvandi, dismissed the IAEA’s claim as a “mistaken” report by an inspector.
In recent months, the IAEA has expressed concerns about Iran’s cooperation with the agency. On November 17, 2022, the IAEA’s Board of Governors passed a resolution calling on Iran to collaborate with the agency’s investigators regarding the alleged “traces of uranium” at several of its “undeclared” sites. Iran has repeatedly rejected these allegations.
The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) placed limits on Iran’s uranium enrichment program in exchange for lifting international sanctions on the country. Under the deal, Iran agreed to limit its uranium enrichment to 3.67% purity, well below the level needed for weapons-grade material, and to reduce its stockpile of enriched uranium. However, in 2018, the United States withdrew from the JCPOA and reimposed sanctions on Iran, leading to a collapse of the deal. In response, Iran has gradually increased its uranium enrichment activities beyond the limits set by the JCPOA, leading to growing international concerns over the country’s nuclear program.
