Iran’s near weapons-grade uranium stock grows ahead of elections: IAEA report
- International inspectors issue quarterly safeguards report on Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium
- Iran will hold an election next month following the death of president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash
Iran increased its stockpile of near bomb-grade uranium, a move that could flame tensions across the wider Middle East as Tehran prepares to hold presidential elections next month.
It’s the first nuclear-safeguards assessment since Iran’s president and foreign minister died in a helicopter crash just days after top officials from the United Nations’ atomic watchdog travelled to the country to secure greater cooperation in their monitoring efforts.
International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors verified on Monday that Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium rose 17 per cent over the last three months, according to a nine-page, restricted report circulated among diplomats and seen by Bloomberg.
That’s enough uranium to fuel several warheads, should Iran make a political decision to pursue weapons.
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Iranian president dies in helicopter crash, raising questions about who will be next ruler
“Further public statements made in Iran during this reporting period regarding its technical capabilities to produce nuclear weapons and possible changes to Iran’s nuclear doctrine only increase concerns about the correctness and completeness of Iran’s safeguards declarations,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in the report.
Recent tit-for-tat missile strikes between Israel and Iran have added urgency to the IAEA’s years-long search to uncover the scope of Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
