U.N. Watchdog: Iran’s Enriched Uranium Now 18 Times Nuke Deal Limit
Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium has swelled to more than 18 times the limit stipulated in the Obama-led nuclear deal, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Monday.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) latest estimates, “as of May 15, 2022, Iran’s total enriched stockpile was 3,809.3 kilograms,” and the regime is continuing to breach the deal’s 3.67 percent limit.
The 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers capped at 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of a specific compound, the equivalent of 202.8 kg of uranium.
Iran’s stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium is now estimated to be 238.4 kilograms, according to the IAEA, up 56.3 kilograms since its last report in March. Uranium enriched to 60 percent has increased nearly 10 kg to 43.1 kg.
A full 90 percent enrichment is weapons-grade.
The report comes on the heels of an impasse at efforts in Vienna to resuscitate the tattered 2015 nuclear deal, which the Trump administration withdrew from in 2018.
The IAEA also said it had questions that were “not clarified” regarding nuclear material found at three sites that was undeclared.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz earlier this month warned that Iran was closer than ever to building a bomb.
“[Iran] stands just a few weeks away from accumulating fissile material that will be sufficient for a first bomb, holds 60 kilograms of enriched material at 60%, produces metallic uranium at the enrichment level of 20%, and prevents the IAEA from accessing its facilities,” he said.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Tuesday published documents he said proved Tehran had spied on the IAEA in an attempt to cover its tracks.
Bennett tweeted a Google Drive link to the Persian-language files, which were spirited out of Tehran by Mossad agents in 2018, and according to the Israeli leader prove that Iran used information from classified documents stolen from the UN nuclear watchdog as part of a cover-up.
Iran “created cover stories and hid evidence to evade [the IAEA’s] nuclear probes,” Bennett said in a video posted online.
“I’m holding the proof of your lies right here in my hands,” he said, holding up copies of the documents. “You see, after Iran stole classified documents from the UN’s Atomic Agency, Iran used that information to figure out what the atomic agency was hoping to find, and then created cover stories and hid evidence to evade their nuclear probes.
“So how do we know this? Because we got our hands on Iran’s deception plan a few years back. And it’s right here in my hands,” Bennett said.
“Here it is, in the Persian language, hundreds of pages marked with the stamp of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence,” Bennett said.
