Iran started enriching uranium up to 60% purity at Fordo plant

Iran began producing uranium enriched to 60% at its Fordow plant, which reopened in 2019 amid the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal.

This was reported by twitter AFP with reference to ISNA agency.

According to Reuters, it was known that Iran had already is enriching uranium to 60% purity elsewhere, which, while well below the 90% required for weapons-grade material, is higher than the 20% it produced before the 2015 agreement to limit enrichment to 3.67%.

The day before, on Monday, November 21, the head of Israeli military intelligence said that Iran had made significant progress in its uranium enrichment program, reported The Times of Israel.

“I wonder what the international community will do when Iran starts enriching uranium to 90 percent,” Major General Aaron Haliva said at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) conference in Tel Aviv.

In early November, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran was continuing to increase its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which could be another step toward nuclear weapons.

The IAEA estimated that as of the end of October, Iran had 62.3 kg of uranium enriched to 60% purity, which is 6.7 kg more than in September. These numbers far exceed the limits set by the original 2015 nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. According to the agreement, Iran is allowed to accumulate a total stockpile of no more than 300 kg and is allowed to enrich uranium to 3.67%, which is enough for peaceful purposes, including medical purposes or as fuel for power plants.

After the US withdrew from the agreement in 2018, other countries, including the UK, France, Germany, Russia and China, continued to implement it. In response to the US withdrawal, Iran began to gradually violate the pact starting in 2019.

At the same time, the IAEA warned that it can no longer verify the exact size of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium due to the strict restrictions that Tehran began to impose on UN inspectors from February 2021. In addition, in June 2022, Tehran decided to remove all surveillance equipment — a total of 27 cameras — that had been installed at Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Scroll to Top