International nuclear inspectors posted to Iran detected last week uranium enriched to levels just below the threshold required for the production of an atom bomb, Bloomberg reported Sunday, citing “two senior diplomats.” International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitors detected uranium enriched to 84 percent, the report said, the highest level found to date in the Islamic Republic.
The outstanding question, it is understood, is whether Iran produced the material intentionally; there is a possibility that the concentration of uranium occurred accidentally within the network of pipes connecting the hundreds of fast-spinning nuclear centrifuges.
The UN nuclear watchdog said it was aware of the report.”The IAEA is aware of recent media reports relating to uranium enrichment levels in Iran,” the body tweeted. “The IAEA is discussing with Iran the results of recent Agency verification activities and will inform the IAEA Board of Governors as appropriate.”
Negotiations on Tehran’s controversial nuclear policy with the West aimed at reviving a 2015 accord have been in the doldrums for several months and it appears that Washington accepts that diplomatic talks with the Islamic Republic reached a dead end.
There are pressing concerns regarding Tehran’s burgeoning military alliance with Moscow, which is seeing the two rogue states developing a “full-fledged defense partnership.”
Source » i24news