In their new quarterly report, the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) confirmed that Iran’s stockpile of civilian enriched uranium continued to grow beyond the 202 kg limit that was originally meant to be in place for the P5+1 nuclear deal.
That the stockpile further grew is unsurprising, as Iran has expanded
their enrichment capacity, and has not shipped any uranium abroad for
fuel conversion in the last couple of months, meaning it was only going
to go up.
Iran has argued that the cap on the P5+1 deal no longer applied after
the US withdrew, and has suggested they could quickly reverse their
excess once they get a new deal with the other parties on shoring up the
sanctions relief the US has failed to deliver.
The IAEA report put Iran’s stockpile at 241.6 kg of low-enriched
uranium, far below any stockpile that would be a proliferation risk, and
all enriched to 3.6% or 4.5%, both well below the 90% needed for even
potential weaponization.
Iran’s decision to exceed the cap was very publicly made, with officials
arguing it was meant to push the EU in particular to ensure trade, with
Iran in particular wanting to be allowed to keep selling oil.
Headlines like these help distort American’s opinions on Iran. The content of this article is fine but unfortunately many people just look at headlines and assume the worst. And after reading some other articles with similar headlines elsewhere, the truth needs all the help it can get since, sadly, the content of those articles matched the headlines.
I highly doubt readers of antiwar.com will have their opinions on Iran distorted.
Some of them already have distorted opinions. Not necessarily by this headline mind you.
Iran has not changed anything it is doing. The US changed. The US stopped Iran from exporting the low-enriched uranium as it had been under the agreement. The US considers that a sanction on Iran. But Iran just keeps on doing what it is allowed to do under the agreement.
This is a problem created by the US, deliberately created, and then blamed on Iran. It is therefore fundamentally propaganda. Don’t want them to have that stuff? Then allow them to sell it, as they try to do.
The US says it thinks Iran should give up the atomic fuel industry allowed to it under the agreement, in order to keep to the arbitrary quantity limits under that same agreement already disregarded by the US. It is simply absurd.