Stocks of uranium enriched to 20% in Iran exceeded 120 kilograms
The reserves of uranium enriched to 20% in Iran have exceeded 120 kg. This was announced on Sunday by Mohammad Eslami, chairman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).
According to the Iranian news agency Tasnim, M. Eslami indicated that according to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program, the interested parties must provide Iranian nuclear reactors with 20% enriched uranium fuel, but they did not provide it, but enriched uranium fuel is one of the basic needs of Iran.
20% enrichment is the upper limit for low enriched uranium above which it can be classified as highly enriched. Most fuels for civil nuclear power plants use uranium with an enrichment level of 3% to 5%. 90% enriched uranium qualifies as weapons grade.
According to the bill passed by the Iranian parliament in December 2020, Iran will produce 120 kilograms of 20 percent enriched uranium within a year after the bill enters into force. In January 2021, an Iranian government official said that measures to increase uranium enrichment to 20% at the Fordow nuclear facility would be implemented. According to analysts, the move by Iran was intended to put pressure on the then-coming Joseph Biden administration to gain more trump cards in future negotiations on a return to the JCPOA and lifting sanctions against Iran.