Iran announces that it has started producing 60% enriched uranium at the Fordo plant

Iran began producing 60% enriched uranium at a plant in Fordo, which reopened in 2019 as Tehran began to disassociate itself from an international deal with major powers over its nuclear programme, state media reported on Tuesday.

“Iran production of enriched uranium began for the first time at Fordo,” the agency said. This underground plant located 180 kilometers south of Tehran was refurbished to improve its capacity.

LOOK: Iran accuses Israel of attacking its nuclear uranium enrichment facility, vows “revenge”

The manufacture of a nuclear bomb requires a level of uranium enrichment to 90%so reaching the level of 60% is very significant.

Iran it has always denied that its nuclear activities are aimed at developing a bomb and insists that its program is for civilian purposes.

According to the international agreement signed in 2015, Iran agreed that the Fordo plant would be limited to enriching uranium to 3.67%, an amount sufficient for civilian uses, as part of various commitments and restrictions on its nuclear activities.

In return, the great powers relaxed the sanctions imposed on Tehran for its nuclear program.

But this agreement has been faltering since 2018 when the United States unilaterally withdrew during the Donald Trump government and reinstated sanctions against Iran.

retaliatory measures

The following year, Tehran began to gradually disengage from its obligations.

In January 2021, Iran He said he was working to enrich uranium to 20%. Several months later another Iranian installation reached the 60% mark.

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, expressed his desire that Washington participate in a reactivation of the international agreement and talks have been underway since April of last year.

But the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, said last month that he sees little chance of restoring the deal, at a time when Iran It is facing a wave of demonstrations that began in September due to the death in detention of the young Mahsa Amini, arrested by the morality police.

The Fordo plant is about 180 kilometers south of Tehran and was built underground to protect it from any bombing or missile attacks from an enemy country.

The nemesis of Iran in the region, Israel, has never ruled out taking action if it deems it necessary to prevent Iran develop nuclear capabilities.

The international agreement between the great powers and Iran It was supervised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but ties between Tehran and this UN body have deteriorated in recent weeks.

On Thursday, the board of governors of the IAEA passed a resolution criticizing the lack of cooperation of Iran and it is the second pronouncement in this regard, after another statement issued in June.

Tehran announced that it will take retaliatory measures to respond to the IAEA resolution.

The official ISNA news agency said that increasing the capacity of the Fordo plant is part of the Iranian response.

The reason for the contention that originated both resolutions is the lack of credible answers from a technical point of view from Tehran on the indications of enriched uranium found in three undeclared plants.

Negotiations to revive the 2015 international agreement are at a standstill and Tehran is demanding a closure of an IAEA investigation.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.