The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a confidential report on Monday finding that Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium is 30 times larger than the limit Tehran accepted under the 2015 nuclear deal signed with former President Barack Obama.
The IAEA documents have not been made public. examination According to an Associated Press reporter, Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium now stands at 6,201 kilograms, a massive increase of 675.8 pounds since the IAEA’s last report in February.
The IAEA report also alleged that Iran continues to obstruct the IAEA’s work by preventing the most experienced inspectors from monitoring its nuclear facilities.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi visited He visited Iran in early May, where he offered encouragement and an optimistic outlook for the Iranian people, but upon his return he complained that Iran’s cooperation with nuclear inspectors was “totally inadequate.”
“The current situation is completely unsatisfactory for me. We are almost at a deadlock and this situation needs to change,” Grossi said on his return to Vienna from Tehran.
Glossy Said In January, Iran said it had enough enriched uranium to produce “several nuclear weapons,” meaning it had a stockpile of near-weapons-grade material at a level of enrichment far beyond any reasonable civilian need and could further refine the uranium to produce simple nuclear weapons.
Grossi and other IAEA officials cite Iran’s growing uranium stockpile as reason for caution, and are apparently worried that putting too much pressure on Iran would lead to even less Iranian cooperation. Iran’s involvement in the Gaza war and its growing ties with Russia are also cited as reasons to tread carefully.
Meanwhile, the IAEA’s confidential report Expressed Some hope that Iran’s new government might be more cooperative. death President Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crash.
of The Wall Street Journal The WSJ frequently publishes unsubstantiated, anonymous claims as “exclusive” journalism. report on monday The Biden administration is pressuring Europe to drop plans to criticize Iran over uranium refining.
The report, citing “diplomats involved in the talks,” said Britain and France were alarmed by the IAEA’s secret assessment of Iran’s swelling stockpile of enriched uranium and worried that Iran’s defiance would undermine the agency’s credibility.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration is said to be concerned that Raisi’s death could further “destabilize” Iran and that sanctions could make Iran permanently unwilling to rejoin the Obama administration’s nuclear deal, a goal that remains cherished by the Biden team despite years of provocations and intransigence by Iran.
European countries, which until recently were largely in favor of reviving the nuclear deal, are reportedly finding it “frustrating” that President Biden has refusal to condemn even Iran’s most excessive violations.
by WSJ, The Biden administration has privately told European officials it will ask for a comprehensive IAEA report that could trigger a “rollback” of the remaining sanctions on Iran lifted under President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal, but that would be after the US presidential election in November. His opponent, Donald Trump, pulled the US out of the nuclear deal in 2018 and would be thrilled if Biden acknowledged Iran had significantly violated the accord.
