Official:

Iran’s Stockpile of Enriched Uranium Exceeds 1.2 Tons

TEHRAN (defapress) – A senior official at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said the country’s stockpile of enriched uranium has surpassed 1,200 kilograms after Tehran took the fifth and last step to reduce its commitments to the 2015 nuclear deal.

News ID: 80000

Date: 26 January 2020 - 11:19

Ali Asghar Zare’an, a special assistant to AEOI chief, said the supply of enriched uranium in Iran has exceeded 1,200 kilograms after the country took the fifth step to scale back its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) earlier this month.

“The reserves of enriched uranium are growing with maximum speed,” he added.

Zare’an also said that the AEOI was injecting gas into the IR-2 and IR-4 centrifuge machines to enrich more uranium, noting that 1,044 centrifuges are currently spinning for the process of enrichment.

The official further pointed to the development of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran, saying the second and third units of the plant will be generating more than 22 billion kilowatt hours of electricity.

The new units will prevent the emission of 21 million tons of pollutants, he said, adding that the completion of the new units will require $10 billion in investment.

On January 5, Iran announced the decision to take the fifth and final step in reducing commitment under the 2015 nuclear deal.

In May 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the JCPOA.

Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the JCPOA after the US withdrawal, but the three EU parties to the deal (France, Britain, and Germany) have failed to ensure Iran’s economic interests.

The EU’s inaction forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments to the nuclear deal, including a rise in the stockpile of enriched uranium.

Iran maintains that the new measures are not designed to harm the JCPOA but to save the accord by creating a balance in the commitments.

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