Iran has increased its uranium enrichment to 83%

Vienna/Berlin: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the United Nations (UN) has claimed that Iran’s nuclear programme has reached a dangerous level. Iran’s uranium enrichment has reached 83.7%, the agency informed in a new report. The Pentagon, the US defence headquarters, explained that the report was an alarm bell. Besides, Germany warned that Iran was becoming dangerous for the Gulf region. Therefore, the US and European countries seem to have accepted Israel’s accusation that Iran’s nuclear programme was not for civilian use purpose behind it was to build nuclear bombs.

On Tuesday, the IAEA, a division of the UN, released its quarterly report. The inspection of Iran‘s Fordow nuclear project by the agency’s inspectors on January 21 and the findings recorded after that have been presented in this report. Before this inspection, Iran had informed the agency of changes in nuclear materials at the Fordow project. But when inspected by the inspectors, the configuration of two cascades of centrifuges of the ‘IR-6’ type in the said project differed greatly from the information given. After inspectors examined the particles in the cascade the next day, it was revealed that the uranium had been enriched to 83.7%, the agency said in its report. The agency also informed that Iran had reported unexpected fluctuations in uranium enrichment during the changes made in the nuclear project in November. The agency said discussions have been ongoing between the agency and Iran, and its inspectors will continue to visit the project.

Behrouz Kamalvandi, a spokesman for Iran’s nuclear programme, said the increase in uranium enrichment was because of a temporary side effect. In addition, he claimed this change may have occurred while enriching uranium to 60% purity. But analysts say such a large increase in uranium enrichment was dubious. The US Department of Defense has also taken note of this report of the IAEA.

Moreover, the Pentagon has said that the pace of Iran’s nuclear programme was a wake-up call for the whole world. Meanwhile, Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock claimed that Iran had increased its uranium enrichment to 84%, raising concerns about the security of the Gulf countries. Baerbock said that the Iranian regime, which brutally oppresses its people, was also threatening the security and stability of the Gulf countries. Baerbock criticised Iran after meeting with Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen.

Under the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran was allowed to enrich only 3.67% of its uranium. But after the US withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018, Iran was accused of accelerating its nuclear program. The IAEA had said 90% uranium enrichment was necessary for an atomic bomb. Israel had previously criticised Iran for enriching enough uranium to build a nuclear bomb despite being under Western sanctions over the past few years. In such a situation, the new report of the IAEA strengthens Israel’s allegations.

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