The latest quarterly report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has once again confirmed that Iran is continuing to comply with all of its requirements under the P5+1 nuclear deal, and that its stockpiles of low enriched uranium remain well below negotiated caps.
The IAEA report also confirmed that Iran has made no attempt to construct a heavy water reactor at Arak. Iran is expected to ultimately build a reactor at Arak to produce medical isotopes, though under the P5+1 deal the international community is to offer an alternative design that produces less plutonium as a waste product.
The lack of an active heavy water reactor, along with continued struggles to sell their excess heavy water on the international market, means Iran is once again nearing the “cap” on a heavy water stockpile. The P5+1 deal was supposed to assure Iran an export market for excess heavy water, to help recoup the cost of a production facility no longer needed because of the Arak redesign.
In practice, Iran has struggled to find buyers. The US bought the first shipment of heavy water, which fueled a bunch of Congressional outrage, despite heavy water posing no nuclear proliferation risk, or really any risk at all, and since then no one seems to want to buy from Iran. Iran has exported excess water for storage in Oman, until a buyer can be found, though they have also argued they really shouldn’t have to go to this expense, because the water isn’t a threat, and it isn’t their fault no one will buy from them.
Iran is not now nor has ever been the “problem” in the Middle East. Israel fits that role very well! Just because the people in DC bend over backwards to ALWAYS please Israel, no matter what Israel’s actions are(even when they are a detriment to the American people!), doesn’t mean these supporters are doing the right thing. On the contrary, they are enabling massive war crimes by an apartheid nuclear-armed regime that threatens the whole world! By all rights, any US “leader” who shows blind support to Israel or any USA action that goes against the US Constitution should be impeached, indicted and convicted of crimes against humanity! Where are the pussies in the world who are supposed to enforce laws like the ones that Nazi Germany ran into after WW2?
Iran has already exceeded its limit of heavy water under the agreement. Heavy water can use unrefined uranium as a fuel, shortcutting the expensive process of enriching uranium to rapidly produce a nuclear bomb. This is happening, as we speak, in Arak.
“Iran has already exceeded its limit of heavy water under the agreement.”
Yes, by a rounding error — a tiny fraction of one percent of the tiny amount they’re allowed under the agreement. It’s like I limited you to a thousand bags of potato chips and then accused you of violating that limit because I found a fingernail sized crumb under your couch.
The nuclear was DOA since it never intended to prevent Iran from ever building a nuke, only delay it and that estimated delay went out the window when we conceded allowing Iran to retain all its centrifuges instead of destroying them and allowing them to “test” up to 500 newer, next-generation centrifuges. It’s all a con. We paid Iran billions and bought of couple of years and didn’t even get any conditions on improving human rights in Iran or allowing dissidents to be safe again.
Why shouldn’t Iran be allowed to test newer enrichment designs, why should they be required to use ancient enrichment technology from the 70’s? It’s like asking someone to use the buggy whip forever.
The agreement allows them to swap in new centrifuges as the old ones break down in order to meet their required capacity for electricity generation. Since the deal requires them to show their uranium ore production for 25yrs, we will know if they suddenly go on a crash enrichment program that goes beyond what they need for electricity production. It’s a simple producer / consumer problem.
Unlike pre-2003 Iraq, the U.S. could then take whatever steps are necessary without fear of making another Intelligence mistake. This is the advantage of the nuclear deal.
Well can’t argue with anyone who thinks Iran should have state of the art centrifuges to spin up enrichment to nuclear fissile material in record time. That’s just CRAZY talk.
Has the US given up its centrifuges yet?
Yeah, didn’t think so.
Did Iran ever ask for the US to give up its nuclear capacity as part of a deal? No. But when we negotiated three nuclear deals with the Soviets and then the Russians, we made concessions as part of the process. So your point is non applicable since Iran was the only issue here and not the U.S.
Did I say ‘record time’? I said they should have enough capacity to produce nuclear fuel in the most efficient manner possible.
I would expect Iran to reduce the number of centrifuges as they get more efficient. To do otherwise would show bad intent. The JCPOA requires Iran to show us their Centrifuge production for 20yrs.
And THAT is exactly the problem. Iran is not really restricted from developing weapons-grade material.
Why shouldn’t Iran be able to do ANYTHING within it’s own sovereign borders and in its own national interests the way any other nation (s) does? Because ISRAEL says so, with the US’s tacit, obligatory approval. Or, is it the other way around? I lose track.
And you, of course, don’t know what you’re talking about! Never mind there was no reason to even drum up the silly nuclear deal to begin with as there CLEARLY was no evidence of any effort by Iran to build/gain a weapon, but Iran is now MORE scrutinized than it was before. So much so, in fact, that practically every nuclear expert NOT in the US’s back pocket agrees about the sheer impossibility of any Iranian effort to violate the agreement undetected. In addition, those same experts cite only 1 reason Iran would ever WANT a nuclear weapon. To PROTECT themselves from US/ISRAELI/SAUDI aggrression. However, as stated before, even that legitimate reason cannot come to fruition under the present deal. This also highlights the utter madness of Trump’s Neocon-inspired assertions of wanting to kill the deal. Thank heavens this is a multi-national deal that the US cannot abrogate across the board!
TOTAL mullah sellout. Always using the stupid line of trying to excuse Iran by blaming Israel and Saudi Arabia. Hey, NEWSFLASH, I can blame Israel and Saudi Arabia and STILL blame Iran for extremism! Just because two other nations are nut jobs does not excuse another nation being a nut job.
All you’ve done is mouth the usual US/ISRAELI tag-team’s anti-Iranian narrative. Iran is going to do whatever it has to in order to protect itself and interests from anyone who actively is engaged in waging war against those interests. And, it is not now – nor has it ever been – in our national interests to hitch our wagon to the radical extremism which is the far right Likuds and Netanyahu.
You must have mistaken this site as being linked with the HERITAGE FOUNDATION. Go peddle that Neocon bullshit somewhere else!
Hardly, not a fan of Heritage of other think tanks. I think most think tanks are made up of overpaid academics to bloviate. But I’m entitled to my little old opinion so I’m going to exercise that unless you are some IRGC fascist troll that thinks free thinkers should be hung along with women and gays.
Fine. Have your opinion, even though it’s vapid.
” Iran Continues to Comply With Nuclear Deal ”
But not enough to satisfy Israel and its drudges in America