Iran set to spice up uranium enrichment close to weapons-grade amid tensions in Middle East
Iran is on the brink of “quite dramatically” increasing its stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium – according to a chilling warning from the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi.
This comes hot on the heels of Iran’s successful space launch with its heaviest payload ever, a move that Western powers believe bolsters Tehran’s ballistic missile programme.
The Simorgh rocket launch coincides with Iran’s nuclear programme now enriching uranium at 60%, just a stone’s throw away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.
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Despite Iran’s insistence that its programme is peaceful, officials in the Islamic Republic are increasingly threatening to potentially seek the bomb. And an intercontinental ballistic missile that would enable Tehran to target distant enemies like the United States.
These developments are set to escalate tensions in the wider Middle East amidst Israel’s ongoing war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon. However, Iran could also be laying the groundwork for potential talks with the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who previously pulled America out of Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers during his first term.
IAEA’s chief Rafael Grossi raised alarms while chatting with journalists in Bahrain, alongside the International Institute of Strategic Studies’ Manama Dialogue. He indicated that his inspectors are gearing up to determine exactly how many centrifuges Iran will be firing up after Tehran alerted his agency about its intentions.
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“I think it is very concerning,” Grossi expressed. “They were preparing and they have all of these facilities sort of in abeyance and now they are activating that. So we are going to see.”
He continued: “If they really make them turn – all of them – it’s going to be a huge jump.”
Shortly following Grossi’s statements, an IAEA release confirmed that Iran had commenced supplying uranium, enriched up to 20%, to two string of advanced IR-6 centrifuges within its subterranean Fordo stronghold safeguarded beneath a mountain from aerial bombardments.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a warning in late November that Iran was gearing up to enrich uranium using thousands of advanced centrifuges. This move came as a response to the IAEA’s Board of Governors condemning Iran for its lack of full cooperation with the agency.
Iran has yet to acknowledge these preparations, and the Iranian mission to the United Nations has not responded to requests for comment.
