UN accuses Iran of increasing stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels

Iran has increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels in defiance of international demands, a confidential report from the UN’s nuclear watchdog found on Thursday.
The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, seen by the Associated Press, said that as of August 17, Iran had 164.7kg of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent, an increase of 22.6kg since the last report in May. Iran’s overall stockpile of enriched uranium stood at 5,751.8kg as of August 17.
Uranium enriched up to 60 per cent purity is close to the 90 per cent needed to manufacture weapons-grade levels.
The report, according to AP, says Tehran has also not reconsidered its decision in September 2023 to ban the most experienced nuclear inspectors from monitoring its atomic programme, and that agency surveillance cameras remain disrupted.
It adds that Iran has still not provided answers to the nuclear watchdog’s years-long investigation about the origin and current location of man-made uranium particles found at Varamin and Turquzabad, that Tehran has failed to declare as potential nuclear sites.
Iran says that its nuclear programme is for peaceful, civilian purposes.
The report comes days after Iran’s supreme leader opened the door to renewed negotiations with the US over his country’s rapidly advancing nuclear programme, telling its civilian government there was “no harm” in engaging with “the enemy”.
In 2015, Iran, the US and other world powers signed a landmark nuclear deal. Under the agreement, Iran was allowed to enrich uranium only up to 3.67 per cent purity, maintain a stockpile of 300kg of the material and use only basic centrifuges, in exchange for the lifting of international economic sanctions.
UN inspectors were also to be permitted to monitor Iran’s compliance.
But in 2018, Donald Trump, the Republican president at the time, unilaterally pulled the US out of the agreement. A year later, Iran began breaking the terms of the pact.
President Joe Biden said on taking office that he would work towards re-entering the nuclear accord with Iran but negotiation efforts have stalled.
Geopolitical circumstances in the Middle East and beyond have since shifted, complicating the prospects of a renewed nuclear deal.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s remarks on Tuesday set clear red lines for any talks taking place under the new government of reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian and reiterated his warnings that Washington was not to be trusted.
The IAEA report acknowledged that before the elections in Iran in June, the agency had been told “that further engagement with the agency would be determined by the new government of Iran”.
The agency congratulated Mr Pezeshkian on his election win and offered to send the IAEA chief to Tehran “to relaunch the dialogue and co-operation between the agency and Iran”, the report said.
But while the newly elected Iranian President confirmed “his agreement to meet” the IAEA chief, no discussions on the subject have taken place since.
The report comes amid fears of a regional spillover of the Gaza war, with Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah engaging in tit-for-tat strikes at the Lebanese border.
It also comes after the killings of major Hamas and Hezbollah figures – one of them in Iran – that have been blamed on Israel. Iran has vowed to retaliate.