Biden considers Iran's uranium enrichment "unhelpful" to negotiations
Shortly after the accident at the Natanz nuclear power plant, Iran announced that it had begun producing enriched uranium with a purity of 60 per cent. This was announced by the head of the country's Atomic Energy Organisation, Ali Akbar Salehi. This is the highest percentage Iran has managed to achieve so far. "We are producing about 9 grams of 60 per cent enriched uranium per hour," Salehi said. The speaker of parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, welcomed the nuclear breakthrough. "The will of the Iranian nation performs miracles that thwart any conspiracy," he wrote on his Twitter account.
This 60 per cent is close to the 90 per cent needed to produce an atomic bomb, according to Iranian state media. This amount of enriched uranium also violates the rules of the nuclear deal. However, since the US left the deal, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly warned that Iran is not abiding by the agreement. Last year, in 2020, the IAEA announced that Tehran was ten times over its uranium stockpile limit. On the latest Iranian achievement, the IAEA has declined to comment. "Discussions are ongoing. I think it is premature to make a judgement on what the outcome will be. We are still talking," said a spokesman for the organisation.
The development comes amid ongoing talks in Vienna on a possible US-Iranian rapprochement to bring Washington back into the nuclear deal. Increasing production of enriched uranium is "not helpful" to the process of these negotiations, according to President Joe Biden. "We don't support and we don't think it's helpful for Iran to announce that it is enriching uranium to 60 per cent. It is contrary to the agreement," the US president said. However, Biden said he was "pleased" that Tehran had agreed to participate in the talks. An EU official who is cooperating in negotiations to bring the US back into the nuclear deal has also said that this Iranian decision does not make the negotiations any easier.
The Vienna talks are of particular interest to the US, as one of Joe Biden's goals is to return to the nuclear deal. Tehran could also benefit from the talks if it can get Washington to lift sanctions that are hitting its economy hard. This point is key for Tehran, as several members of the government have repeatedly announced that they will not unblock negotiations until the US removes sanctions. Likewise, they do not discuss the possibility of meeting directly with US representatives, so negotiations are being conducted through European, Chinese and Russian diplomats.
With Iran's new nuclear achievements, the US plans to lift some sanctions from 2018, while maintaining others against companies, institutions and leaders. "The United States reserves the right to impose nuclear-related sanctions, whether for terrorism, human rights violations or interference in our elections," a senior State Department official said.
Israel, a major enemy of Iran and a prime suspect in the incident at Natanz and other plants, according to the Iranian government, has expressed concern about the development. Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi has assured that Israel will do "whatever it takes" to ensure that Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons. Israel has also been blamed by Iran for the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a leading Iranian nuclear scientist.
