A new IAEA announcement on Iran’s civilian nuclear program has confirmed that Iran has configured two centrifuge cascades at Natanz to enrich uranium hexafluoride to 60%. This is an enrichment level pushed by Iran’s parliament after recent Israeli sabotage attempts, and Iran has pointed it out as entirely peaceful, and legal.
This is the highest level of enrichment Iran has ever attempted. It was announced weeks ago, when Iran informed the IAEA of it. The matter is somewhat controversial because Iran has no apparent use for 60% enriched uranium. It has been widely speculated that the move is mostly to publicly protest the sabotage, and that the uranium will ultimately be diluted back to useful levels when they’re done with it.
This is likely to lead to more western criticism, though Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement Tuesday on the matter, noting the action is in complete compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the safeguards commitment, and is being done entirely under IAEA supervision. All of that appears to be the case.
The downside is that this enrichment is higher than was meant to happen under the JCPOA nuclear deal. This isn’t strictly a “violation,” because Iran is not getting the sanctions relief they’re promised under the deal, and Iran is deliberately taking measures beyond the deal’s scope to try to force a negotiation to get the sanctions relief in place. As Iran points out, these measures are all completely reversible.
The only reason this keeps coming up as an issue is that the IAEA publicizes reports which are built around Iran taking steps toward things they’d already announced.
The world, especially the Axis of Evil of Amerikkka and Isra-hell, NEEDS TO LEAVE IRAN ALONE.
It takes two to tango.
Now that Afghanistan is no longer a concern, stand by for a deluge of Israeli propaganda directed towards getting the American geese to attack Iran. Israel will get their way and we will lose our butts.
“Militias”(settlers) and IDF soldiers are working in tandem attacking Palestinians, on Palestinian properties. It never stops, the knocking down of barns and houses, uprooting trees, plowing over gardens. And the most powerful (?) country in the world, the “house on the hill”, the promoter of peace, justice and the American way, does not rein in Israel.
Look for us to pull a Grenada so that American might can be “back”, and also look for us to shovel more $$$$$ and weapons to Israel, and SA, and UAE………………….
vlp1730
“pull a Grenada”? where are we going to find another pushover like Grenada? — unless we start bombing the Palestinian schollchildren too. — I am sure that that thought has already occurred to the “humanest” IDF.
Iran is unlikely to proceed with making highly enriched uranium in quantity, but it’s learning how to do it if conditions change. Ditto for their conversion of the uranium gas compound into metal. However, contrast that with the situation in the Apartheid state:
Israel’s Secret Arsenal: It’s Not So Secret Anymore
Notice how they stole US enriched uranium. The little terrorist state is said to have had an awful lot of deliberate help from France as well – I’ve read of a claim the French allowed them to conduct nuclear tests in the Pacific.