Iran vows to enrich uranium to highest level ever after Natanz nuclear facility attack
- Iran says it will enrich uranium to 60 per cent, closer to weapons grade
- Announcement comes after sabotage at Iranian nuclear facility
The International Atomic Energy Agency has been informed of the move, state-run Press TV said, quoting Deputy Foreign Ministry Abbas Araghchi. He said 1,000 new centrifuges would be added to the damaged Natanz facility, adding that the purified material would be used for medical purposes.
But raising the level to 60 per cent means Iran’s stockpile could quickly be further enriched to 90 per cent of uranium-235 isotopes, the threshold for weapons manufacture. Until now, Tehran has stopped just short of producing 20 per cent-enriched material – considered to be low-enriched because of its use in power and research reactors – and denies it intends to produce atomic warheads.
The move raises the stakes for the next round of talks in Vienna, which will involve the remaining parties to the landmark 2015 nuclear accord, including Iran, China, Russia, and three European nations. Negotiations aim to enable a US return to the deal that then-president Donald Trump abandoned in 2018, prompting Iran to cross the limits imposed on its enrichment activity.
So far, there’s been no agreement on how that should happen, after both Washington and Tehran signalled the other must move first. France condemned Iran’s actions, calling it a “serious development”