Tag Archives: enriched uranium

New report: Iran is continuing to enrich uranium for which there’s no credible civilian purpose

Nuclear Mushroom Cloud

Important Takeaways:

  • Iran has defied international demands to rein in its nuclear program and has increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels, according to the UN nuclear watchdog.
  • The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency said that as of Oct. 26, Iran has 182.3 kilograms (401.9 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60%
  • Uranium enriched at 60% purity is just a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.
  • The IAEA also estimated in its quarterly report that as of Oct. 26, Iran’s overall stockpile of enriched uranium stands at 6,604.4 kilograms (14,560 pounds), an increase of 852.6 kilograms (1,879.6 pounds) since August.
  • Under the IAEA’s definition, around 42 kilograms (92.5 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60% purity is the amount at which creating one atomic weapon is theoretically possible — if the material is enriched further, to 90%.
  • A senior western diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, confirmed to the AP that the United Kingdom, France and Germany, with the support from the U.S., are going ahead with a resolution at this week’s IAEA Board of Governors meeting, censuring Iran for its lack of cooperation, leading to potential confrontation with Iran ahead of Trump’s return to the White House.
  • “The Iranian regime continues to amass a growing stockpile of highly enriched uranium for which there is no credible civilian purpose and they continue to not cooperate fully with the IAEA,” he added.

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After spending $1 Billion per year US administration decides now’s the time to ban Russian uranium

enriched-uranium-canisters

Important Takeaways:

  • Biden signs Russian uranium ban
  • Why it matters: The U.S. spends an estimated $1 billion per year on nuclear fuel from Russia, so the new law cuts off a key source of revenue as Putin’s forces escalate their war on Ukraine and drive military spending to levels not seen since the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s.
  • Congress moved to ban Russian oil, gas and coal soon after the full-scale Russian military invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, but Russia supplies about 20% of its enriched uranium for U.S. nuclear fuel.
  • The legislation could shake up the industry’s supply and initiating nuclear fuel supply programs will be crucial for the Biden administration to avoid industry disruptions and obstacles for the next generation of reactors, Axios’ Nick Sobczyk reports.
  • Zoom in: The measure, dubbed the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act, unlocks $2.7 billion in new funding for nuclear fuel supply programs at the Department of Energy.

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Top US official says Iran could weaponize their stockpile of Uranium in two weeks; That’s enough to make Five Nukes

Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Important Takeaways:

  • Defense Minister Yoav Gallant revealed on Thursday that Iran currently has enough enriched uranium for five nuclear weapons, should it decide to weaponize that uranium and complete the detonation and delivery tasks for firing a weapon.
  • “Iran is not sufficing with one nuclear bomb. It has already accumulated enough enriched uranium at the 20% and 60% levels for five nuclear bombs,” the defense minister told his hosts during a visit to Greece.
  • Recently a top US defense official said that Iran could weaponize the uranium in less than two weeks.
  • The Mossad unveiled significant aspects of the weapons group when it seized Iran’s nuclear archives in 2018.
  • That spy mission also established in Iranian documents that its goal had always been a minimum of a five-nuclear weapon arsenal, which it is now closer than ever to achieving.

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International Atomic Agency Reports Iran Has the Highest Level of Enriched Uranium

Matthew 24:6 “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.”

Important Takeaways:

  • UN watchdog warns Iran closer than ever to nuclear bomb: report
  • A confidential report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to its members said that Tehran had 33.2 kilograms of 60 percent enriched material as of Feb. 19.
  • It’s the highest level of enriched uranium ever recorded in Iran, up from the 17.7 kilograms the agency recorded in early November, the Wall Street Journal reported
  • To produce enough weapons-grade nuclear fuel, Iran would need roughly 40 kilograms of 60 percent enriched uranium, the report said.
  • The IAEA report was released as negotiators from the US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China meet with Iranian officials in Vienna to try to restore the 2015 deal brokered by the Obama administration.
  • “In the coming weeks, perhaps even in the coming days, a nuclear agreement may be signed between [world] powers and Iran,” Gantz said, according to the Times of Israel.

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Last-ditch talks to keep Iran under nuclear limits headed for failure

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi and Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Helga Schmit attend a meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission in Vienna, Austria, June 28, 2019. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

By John Irish and Francois Murphy

VIENNA (Reuters) – Last-ditch talks to persuade Tehran not to exceed nuclear limits within days were on course for failure on Friday, as Iranian officials said their demands had not been met and Washington rebuffed European calls to ease sanctions to allow negotiations.

A week after Washington called off air strikes just minutes before impact, diplomats say Iran is on course within days to exceed the threshold of enriched uranium allowed under its nuclear deal with world powers, which Washington quit last year.

Any such move would reshape the diplomatic landscape, at a time when European officials are warning that a small mistake on either side could push the United States and Iran to war.

Iranian officials met in Vienna with representatives of the countries that are still party to the nuclear deal — Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China. The Iranians repeated their demand that they be allowed to sell oil.

The talks were a “last chance for the remaining parties … to gather and see how they can meet their commitments towards Iran,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said.

Despite abandoning the deal, Washington has demanded European countries force Iran to continue complying with it. Iran says it cannot do so unless the Europeans provide it with some way to receive the deal’s promised economic benefits.

“For one year we exercised patience. Now it is the Europeans’ turn to exercise patience,” Mousavi said. “They should try to find solutions, practical solutions.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said this week that he would ask U.S. President Donald Trump to ease sanctions to allow negotiations to begin. But the plea seemed to have fallen on deaf ears, with Trump’s Iran envoy saying on Friday sanctions would remain in place to end Iranian oil exports altogether.

“We will sanction any imports of Iranian crude oil… There are right now no oil waivers in place,” Brian Hook, the U.S. Special Representative On Iran, told reporters in London.

European countries, which opposed Trump’s decision to abandon the deal and reimpose sanctions, have promised to find ways to allow Iran access to trade in return for continuing to comply. But in practice, the effort has failed, with major European companies canceling all plans to invest in Iran.

DEADLINES

Iran has set a number of deadlines in recent weeks after which it would cease complying with specific terms of the nuclear deal. The first expired on Thursday, the date Tehran said the quantity of enriched uranium it is holding could exceed the deal’s permissible threshold.

Diplomats in Vienna, headquarters of the U.N. nuclear agency IAEA, told Reuters on Thursday that the latest data from inspectors suggested the threshold had not yet been breached, but it could be as soon as Saturday or Sunday.

Another deadline, when Iran says it could enrich uranium to a purity forbidden under the deal, expires on July 7.

Iran says that if it does exceed thresholds, the steps would be reversible and it still aims to keep the deal in place.

The crisis between Iran and the United States that began with Trump’s withdrawal from the pact has escalated in recent weeks after Washington sharply tightened its sanctions from the start of May to halt all Iranian oil exports.

The Trump administration argues that the 2015 agreement reached under his predecessor Barack Obama was too weak because many terms are not permanent and it excludes non-nuclear issues such as missiles and Iran’s regional behavior. Washington says the aim of sanctions is to force Tehran to renegotiate.

Tehran says there can be no talks as long as sanctions are in place and Washington is ignoring the deal it already signed.

The confrontation took on a military dimension in recent weeks, with Washington blaming Tehran for attacks on ships in the Gulf, which Iran denies. Iran shot down a U.S. drone last week, saying it had entered its air space. Washington said the drone was in international skies, and Trump ordered, then aborted, retaliatory air strikes on Iranian targets.

Any move by Iran that violated the terms of the nuclear deal would put pressure on the Europeans to take sides.

“We will repeat to the Iranians that nuclear issues are not negotiable. We want them to stay in the accord, but we won’t accept them messing us around,” a senior European diplomat said before Friday’s meeting.

The cornerstone of European efforts to placate the Iranians is the creation of INSTEX, a mechanism to use barter to allow some trade that would avoid entanglement in U.S. sanctions.

Almost six months after it was created, it is still not operational and diplomats say it will be able to handle only small volumes for items like medicine, not the large oil sales Iran is seeking.

“If INSTEX fails to meet Iran’s demands within the framework of the nuclear deal, we will take the next steps more decisively,” Mousavi said, adding that “the implementation of the EU’s trade mechanism has been delayed due to some lack of commitments”.

(Additional reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Guy Faulconbridge in London and Parisa Hafezi in Dubai; Editing by Peter Graff)