Iran has increased its enriched uranium stock to 12 times the amount allowed under its deal with major powers, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on Wednesday in Vienna.
The confidential document, which was seen by dpa, also raised new questions about nuclear particles that have been found at a site that Iran had not disclosed as part of its nuclear programme.
The Vienna-based IAEA said in its latest quarterly Iran report that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium has risen above 2,400 kilograms.
While this is far above the 202.8 kilograms allowed under the deal, it is still far below the amount that the Islamic Republic had before agreeing to the pact with the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China.
Tehran began ignoring key provisions of the deal last year, after US President Donald Trump decided that the United States would exit the agreement and revive sanctions on Iran.
However, US president-elect Joe Biden has said he would seek a return to the 2015 deal, if Iran returned to strict compliance with its provisions, and if it agreed to further negotiations.
After more than a year of rising nuclear tensions between Iran and Washington, Tehran had made a conciliatory move in when it announced in August that IAEA inspectors would be finally allowed to visit two sites to look for traces of suspected past nuclear activities.
The chemical samples that were taken in recent weeks are still being analysed, according to a senior diplomat who closely follows the IAEA’s work in Iran.
However, the IAEA highlighted new unresolved questions in its latest report.
Iran’s explanations about the origins of nuclear particles that were previously detected at a secret site last year are implausible, it said.
The report noted that the chemical signature of the uranium particles was similar to those found on nuclear equipment that Iran imported from Pakistan, its nuclear-armed neighbour.
“A full and prompt explanation from Iran … is needed,” the IAEA said in its report, adding that Iran’s explanations were “not technically credible.”
“The site should not have traces of [man-made] uranium particles,” the senior diplomat said, pointing to Iran’s obligation to fully declare its nuclear programme to the IAEA.
The site was likely used as a warehouse for technical components until late 2018, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The 2015 nuclear deal aims to prevent Iran from amassing enriched uranium, which can not only be used to power reactors, but also for nuclear warheads.
Iran denies that it ever sought to build a nuclear arsenal.
