Exclusive: Iran still short of nuclear deal's enriched uranium cap - diplomats

[snoop1130]

Exclusive: Iran still short of nuclear deal's enriched uranium cap - diplomats

by Francois Murphy

 

FILE PHOTO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a meeting with tribal leaders in Kerbala, Iraq, March 12, 2019. REUTERS/Abdullah Dhiaa Al-Deen

 

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran is still short of the maximum amount of enriched uranium it is allowed to have under its deal with major powers but it is on course to reach that limit at the weekend, the latest data from U.N. nuclear inspectors shows, diplomats say.

 

This makes it unlikely Iran will follow through on its threat to violate one of the nuclear deal’s central restrictions on Thursday, which could have unravelled the pact altogether.

 

It also sets up a meeting with other signatories on Friday aimed at saving the accord, which is straining under U.S. pressure.

 

“They haven’t reached the limit... It’s more likely to be at the weekend if they do it,” one diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

 

The 2015 deal, which lifted international sanctions against Iran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities, is aimed at extending the time Iran would need to produce a nuclear bomb, if it chose to, to a year from roughly 2-3 months.

 

On Wednesday, the U.N. nuclear watchdog verified that Iran had roughly 200 kg of low-enriched uranium, below the deal’s 202.8 kg limit, three diplomats who follow the agency’s work said.

 

Two of the diplomats said Iran was producing at a rate of around 1 kg a day, meaning it could go over the line soon after the meeting of senior officials from Iran, France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China in Vienna on Friday.

 

ZERO TOLERANCE

 

Washington pulled out of the nuclear accord last year and has imposed punishing economic sanctions against Tehran.

 

Iran has threatened to respond by setting aside some of the deal’s restrictions, which could cause the deal to collapse, though it has called on European powers to do more to shield it from U.S. sanctions - a move the White House has called “nuclear blackmail”.

 

The European powers are scrambling to protect trade with Iran but what they can achieve pales in comparison to U.S. sanctions aimed at slashing Iran’s vital oil exports to zero.

 

Diplomats have also stressed the European signatories are weary of Iranian demands that they sustain a pact that Washington has withdrawn from and said if Tehran followed suit they would have little choice but to acquiesce in the reimposition of U.N. sanctions.

 

The International Atomic Energy Agency, which is policing the deal’s nuclear restrictions, does not generally comment on details of its inspections. It was not immediately available for comment on Thursday.

 

“We’ve made it clear to the Iranians that we have zero tolerance on the nuclear issue,” a senior European official said. “They are close to the threshold, but we will wait for the IAEA to report back to us in the coming days.”

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-06-27

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[Tug]

Thanks Donald now Iran can tell us and the rest of the world to f... off donalds plan is to strangle Iran into submission I don’t think they are going to play along 

[Morch]

26 minutes ago, Tug said:

Thanks Donald now Iran can tell us and the rest of the world to f... off donalds plan is to strangle Iran into submission I don’t think they are going to play along 

 

"...now Iran can tell us and the rest of the world to f... off"

 

How so?

 

"I don’t think they are going to play along"

 

In what way were they playing along up to now? How do you think they can effectively do something about their economy under current conditions?

 

[Tug]

Well by continuing to inrich uranium for one we broke the agreement not them we look bad in this not them and make no mistake I don’t like their government or how they project power that being said they were abiding by a international treaty worked out by our old allies that Donald decided to rip up they will tighten their belts and our old ally’s probably don’t like to be bulleyed by Donald they just might start buying oil from them

y 

[Tug]

4 minutes ago, Tug said:

Well by continuing to inrich uranium for one we broke the agreement not them we look bad in this not them and make no mistake I don’t like their government or how they project power that being said they were abiding by a international treaty worked out by our old allies that Donald decided to rip up our old allies probably don’t like being bulleyed rather they might start buying their oil

 

 

[jany123]

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The 2015 deal, which lifted international sanctions against Iran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities, is aimed at extending the time Iran would need to produce a nuclear bomb, if it chose to, to a year from roughly 2-3 months.

So.... with the uranium enrichment ramping up already, construction material pre purchased to refurbish their reactor.... the lead time to build a bigga bomb is somewhere around... say... six months... starting now.

great... I’m used to hot Xmas’s.... but perhaps the northern hemisphere need not splash out on this winters warmer fashion offerings

[Krataiboy]

19 minutes ago, jany123 said:

So.... with the uranium enrichment ramping up already, construction material pre purchased to refurbish their reactor.... the lead time to build a bigga bomb is somewhere around... say... six months... starting now.

great... I’m used to hot Xmas’s.... but perhaps the northern hemisphere need not splash out on this winters warmer fashion offerings

There is a big difference between low-enriched uranium (less than 20% U-235) used for fuel in nuclear power plants and research reactors, and high-enriched uranium (over 90% U-235) used for nuclear weapons.

 

The kind Iran is producing is low-enriched uranium (3.67% U-235 enriched uranium), also known as " not even close to being used in a nuclear weapon"-enriched uranium.

 

But why should the propagandising Western mass media let the facts get in the way of pushing the latest Pentagon scare story?

 

https://steemit.com/iran/@corbettreport/the-truth-about-iran-s-nuclear-program

 

[jany123]

5 minutes ago, Krataiboy said:

There is a big difference between low-enriched uranium (less than 20% U-235) used for fuel in nuclear power plants and research reactors, and high-enriched uranium (over 90% U-235) used for nuclear weapons.

 

The kind Iran is producing is low-enriched uranium (3.67% U-235 enriched uranium), also known as " not even close to being used in a nuclear weapon"-enriched uranium.

 

But why should the propagandising Western mass media let the facts get in the way of pushing the latest Pentagon scare story?

 

https://steemit.com/iran/@corbettreport/the-truth-about-iran-s-nuclear-program

 

Thanks... a great link that.... but perhaps it shows that things are even worse, as mass hysteria is fueling the fire, not common sense.

[Morch]

2 hours ago, Tug said:

Well by continuing to inrich uranium for one we broke the agreement not them we look bad in this not them and make no mistake I don’t like their government or how they project power that being said they were abiding by a international treaty worked out by our old allies that Donald decided to rip up they will tighten their belts and our old ally’s probably don’t like to be bulleyed by Donald they just might start buying oil from them 

y 

 

How does continuing to enrich Uranium address Iran's issues? It won't make sanctions go away, and if the Iranian activities cross a certain level, what little sympathy they get from other governments might be compromised.

 

Yes, the USA did come out looking bad after withdrawing form the agreement. And if Iran follows suit then it will both look bad itself, and further lose support. Additionally, it will officially open itself wide open to action and penalties.

 

I don't think Europeans will go along with Iran renewing its nuclear program. Less obvious for China and Russia, but I guess at the end of the day, it doesn't serve neithre's interests to have a nuclear capable Iran to contend with.

 

[Morch]

41 minutes ago, jany123 said:

Thanks... a great link that.... but perhaps it shows that things are even worse, as mass hysteria is fueling the fire, not common sense.

 

Sounds like a win-win for some. Can either stoke the hysteria or complain about it being stoked.

[jany123]

1 hour ago, Morch said:

 

Sounds like a win-win for some. Can either stoke the hysteria or complain about it being stoked.

Lol.... or a loose loose perhaps, with only the low ground left to dominate.

[Srikcir]

3 hours ago, Krataiboy said:

There is a big difference between low-enriched uranium (less than 20% U-235) used for fuel in nuclear power plants and research reactors, and high-enriched uranium (over 90% U-235) used for nuclear weapons.

 

The kind Iran is producing is low-enriched uranium (3.67% U-235 enriched uranium), also known as " not even close to being used in a nuclear weapon"-enriched uranium.

 

But why should the propagandising Western mass media let the facts get in the way of pushing the latest Pentagon scare story?

 

https://steemit.com/iran/@corbettreport/the-truth-about-iran-s-nuclear-program

 

What some people characterize as "ramping up" production of U-238 is not its enrichment but its quantity of 4% U-238 nuclear fuel suitable for electric generation.

Apparently,

• Iran was increasing production (having notified the United Nations nuclear watchdog in advance) with the intention sending it under a previous waiver that let Iran ship out any enriched uranium above the 300 kg limit in exchange for natural or “yellowcake” uranium.

But Trump revoked the waiver.

• That undermined Iran’s ability to dispose of excess materials, forcing it to choose either between stopping enrichment, as the Trump administration wants, or abandoning its commitment to the storage threshold.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-20/iran-quadruples-rate-of-production-of-enriched-uranium-tasnim

 

This is another Trump manufactured crisis.

 

[Srikcir]

22 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Iran is still short of the maximum amount of enriched uranium it is allowed to have under its deal with major powers

Just to put Iran's enrichment capacity in perspective with other nations¹:

¹  Yes, report is out dated. But the 2017 Nuclear Fuels Report is priced at £850. http://www.world-nuclear.org/our-association/publications/publications-for-sale/nuclear-fuel-report.aspx