Ajit Karn
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says that near-bomb-grade enriched uranium particles were found at an Iranian nuclear facility. News Agencies said, based on a report, that the enriched uranium particles were found to be 83.7% pure, which is close to the 90% enrichment level needed to make a nuclear bomb. A report says that these particles were found at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), which is an underground facility about 20 miles (32 km) northeast of the city of Qom.
On January 22, the IAEA took samples of the air around the plant. These samples showed that there were particles of highly enriched uranium in the air.
According to a report, the UN body also told Iran that these findings don’t match up with what Iran said about the level of enrichment at the Fordow plant and asked Iran to explain where these particles came from.
“These events clearly show that the agency is able to notice and report changes in how nuclear facilities in Iran are run in a timely manner,” the report said.
When asked about the particles, Iran said that they may have been caused by “unintended fluctuations” during the enrichment process.
The report also said that Iran’s stockpile of uranium that has been enriched up to 60% since the last report in November 2022 has grown by 87.5 kg.
A spokesperson for the US State Department said Tuesday that the IAEA report could be a “very serious development.”
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Iran has been enriching uranium far more than what was agreed to in a landmark deal with world powers in 2015. The deal started to fall apart when the US pulled out of it in 2018.
The deal was made so that Iran could get some much-needed relief from sanctions in exchange for putting a stop to its nuclear programme.
Talks between world powers to get back to the deal have been going on and off since 2021, but they have stopped since last year.
