Iran has increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, defying commitments made under the 2015 nuclear deal, the United Nations nuclear watchdog said in its latest report.
Its estimate of Iran’s stockpile, as of November 6, was many times in excess of the limit laid down in the 2015 agreement with world powers, said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report seen Wednesday by AFP.
The total amount now includes 113.8 kg (251 lbs) enriched to 20 percent, up from 84.3 (186 lbs) in September, and 17.7 kg (39 lbs) enriched up to 60%, up from 10 kg (22 lbs), the report says.
Such highly enriched uranium can be easily refined to make atomic weapons, which is why world powers have sought to contain Tehran’s nuclear program.
The Vienna-based agency told members that it is still not able to verify Iran’s exact stockpile of enriched uranium due to the limitations Tehran imposed on UN inspectors earlier this year.
The IAEA has been unable to access surveillance footage of Iranian nuclear sites or of online enrichment monitors and electronic seals since February. The agency’s chief, Rafael Mariano Grossi, told The Associated Press this month that the situation was like “flying in a heavily clouded sky.”
Grossi will visit Tehran next Monday to discuss Iran’s nuclear program, the spokesman for Iran’s atomic agency said, as several key dates approach
Grossi had expressed concern on November 12 over the lack of contact with the Iranian government, describing it as “astonishing.”
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