Iran's stock of near-bomb-grade uranium has jumped, U.N. watchdog says

Iran’s stock of uranium close to weapons grade has jumped since it announced a dramatic acceleration in enrichment in December, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said.

VIENNA — Iran’s stock of uranium close to weapons grade has jumped since it announced a dramatic acceleration in enrichment in December and there has been no progress on resolving outstanding issues, two reports by the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Wednesday.

The stock of uranium enriched to up to 60% fissile purity, close to the roughly 90% of bomb grade, has been a long-standing concern for Western powers, which say there is no civil justification for enriching uranium to such a high level. Iran says it seeks only peaceful nuclear energy.

While President Donald Trump’s administration has said it plans to pressure Iran over its nuclear program, the International Atomic Energy Agency has said time is running out for diplomacy to impose new restrictions on Iran’s activities.

“The significantly increased production and accumulation of high enriched uranium by Iran, the only non-nuclear weapon state to produce such nuclear material, is of serious concern,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a passage that, unusually, was included in both its quarterly reports on Iran.

Those confidential reports, sent to member states on Wednesday and both seen by Reuters, showed that while the stock of 60% material grew by half, there was no real progress on resolving long-running outstanding issues including the unexplained presence of uranium traces at undeclared sites.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/irans-stock-bomb-grade-uranium-jumped-un-watchdog-says-rcna193951

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