Traces of enriched uranium discovered inside Iran as nuclear weapon fears grow

21 February 2023 , 14:52

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The Natanz uranium enrichment facility buildings (Image: Getty Images)

Traces of uranium enriched to near-weapons grade at a site connected to Iran’s nuclear programme have been found by inspectors from the United Nations.

Uranium needs to be purified to 90 per cent for nuclear weapons and the uranium found was at 84 per cent.

The discovery was leaked to American news agencies yesterday evening and while the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency refused to confirm it, Rafael Grossi, its director, said that he was “in discussions with Iran”.

Iran’s foreign ministry said that any claim it was enriching uranium for nuclear weapons was “slander”.

“So far, we have not made any attempt to enrich above 60 per cent,” Behrouz Kamalvandi, the head of the Iranian atomic energy organisation, said in a statement released by state media.

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Uranium conversion plant in Isfahan, Iran (Getty Images)

He continued: "The presence of particles above 60 per cent enrichment does not mean production with an enrichment above 60 per cent.

“This is something very natural which can even occur as a result of a decrease in the feed of centrifuge cascades at a moment. What matters is the final product, and the Islamic Republic of Iran has so far not tried to enrich over 60 per cent.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency says it is trying to clarify how Iran accumulated uranium enriched to 84 per cent purity, which is the highest level found by inspectors in the country to date.

The news comes after last month’s unannounced inspection at the Fordo nuclear site, which found two advanced centrifuges connected in a way that the Iranians had not declared to inspectors.

This is a satellite image of Natanz (DigitalGlobe/Getty Images)

The United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany dismissed Iran’s claim as “inadequate”.

In January, Director-General Rafael Grossi told European Parliament lawmakers Iran had “amassed enough nuclear material for several nuclear weapons — not one at this point.”

He also said Tehran’s trajectory “is certainly not a good one.”

Iran resumed work on its nuclear sites after Donald Trump's government withdrew from the Obama-era nuclear deal.

The United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany dismissed Iran’s claim as 'inadequate' (Getty Images)

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as it is formally known, was signed between Iran, China, Russia, the United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the European Union in 2015. It put strict curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for lifting sanctions.

Those nations are desperately trying to revive talks but stalled over suspicions that Tehran was not negotiating in good faith.

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President Joe Biden admitted on camera that the deal was "dead" while speaking to voters at an election rally last November, apparently unaware that the exchange was being filmed.

Rachel Hagan