(Bloomberg) — Iran has increased its stockpile of near-bomb-grade uranium, a move that could stoke tensions in the broader Middle East as Tehran prepares to hold presidential elections next month.
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It is the first assessment of nuclear safety since Iran’s president and foreign minister were killed in a helicopter crash, just days after top officials from the United Nations nuclear watchdog traveled to the country to seek greater cooperation in its monitoring efforts.
International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors found Monday that Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium has risen 17% over the past three months, according to a nine-page limited report circulating among diplomats and seen by Bloomberg. That’s enough uranium to fuel several nuclear warheads, should Iran make a political decision to use weapons.
“Further public statements made in Iran during this reporting period regarding the technical capabilities to produce nuclear weapons and possible changes to Iran’s nuclear doctrine only increase concerns about the accuracy and completeness of Iran’s security declarations,” said IAEA Director Rafael Mariano Grossi in the report. .
Recent missile strikes between Israel and Iran have added urgency to the IAEA’s years-long quest to expose the extent of Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. While the IAEA conducts daily inspections of declared nuclear facilities, suspicions remain over whether Iranian engineers could be hiding work used for military purposes. Tehran has blocked the agency’s investigation into uranium found at undeclared locations.
Although Iran insists it does not want to produce nuclear weapons, international distrust led to a negotiated compromise in 2015 that limited the country’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Recent statements by current and former Iranian officials that the country could revise its nuclear doctrine — and possibly build a weapon — prompted Grossi to renew his efforts at diplomacy through his visit earlier this month.
Read more: Iran’s nuclear weapons chatter raises further alarm at UN watchdog
The US gave Iran an ultimatum at the latest meeting of the IAEA: cooperate or face censorship, which could lead to a referral to the UN Security Council and the extension of sanctions on the Islamic Republic. Some European countries already wanted to increase the pressure in March. The IAEA board will meet again on June 3 in the Austrian capital.
Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to a purity level of 60% – a level indistinguishable from weapons fuel – rose to 142 kilograms from 121.5 kilograms in March, the IAEA inspectors concluded. Stocks of 20% enriched fuel grew from 712.2 kilograms to 751 kilograms.
IAEA inspectors reported that Iran continues to block an investigation into uranium particles detected at undeclared locations.
“No progress has been made in the past year,” Grossi told diplomats. Iran informed IAEA representatives who visited Tehran on May 20 that due to the deaths of the president and foreign minister, it was “no longer appropriate” to hold substantive discussions, and that the search for a solution would have to wait indefinitely , read a second eight-page report distributed Monday.
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