- Iran plans to resume enriching uranium at 20% purity, the Associated Press reported on Saturday.
- “We are like soldiers and our fingers are on the trigger,” said Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran’s civilian atomic energy organization, on state television, adding that the country would produce 20% enriched uranium “as soon as possible.”
- Iran agreed not to enrich uranium above 4% as part of an international nuclear deal in 2015.
- President Trump came out of the agreement in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions on Iran, but President-elect Biden plans to re-join and suspend sanctions if the country strictly complies with international requirements.
- The first anniversary of the drone attack in Baghdad, killing Iran’s most powerful military commander, General Qasem Soleimani, ordered by President Trump, is on January 3.
- Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.
Iran plans to enrich uranium to 20% purity “as soon as possible”, marking its latest breach of international restrictions on its nuclear program, the Associated Press reported on Saturday.
Iranian authorities recently wrote a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), informing the supervisory body that they plan to increase enrichment levels from less than 5% to up to 20% at one of its nuclear plants. The authorities did not say when the increases would be implemented.
Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran’s civilian atomic energy organization, said on state television on Saturday that Iran will not waste any time, according to the AP.
“We are like soldiers and our fingers are on the trigger,” he said. “The commander must command and we shoot. We are ready for this and we will produce (20% enriched uranium) as soon as possible ”.
As part of a 2015 nuclear deal, Iran agreed not to enrich uranium above 4% and to allow international inspections of its nuclear facilities to exchange sanctions relief.
President Trump pulled out of the deal in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions. This triggered a series of incidents that culminated in a drone attack on January 3, 2020 in Baghdad, killing Iran’s most powerful military commander, General Qasem Soleimani.
The latest boldness comes when renewed tension has increased in the region in the last days of Trump’s presidency.
This week, the United States sent B-52 bombers to fly over the Persian Gulf region to send a message to Tehran after a rocket attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, which the Trump administration said was the work of Iranian proxy forces.
European intelligence officials are alarmed at the possibility of military action against Iran in the last days of the Trump administration, Insider reported in November. According to three European intelligence officials who spoke to Insider, the prospect of Trump – who pushed for maximum pressure on Iran – or a combination of Israel or Saudi Arabia creating a military confrontation has been a concern.
President-elect Joe Biden has indicated that he will try to enter again and lift sanctions if Iran strictly complies with international requirements.
Iran’s parliament passed a bill allowing 20% enrichment last month after one of the country’s top nuclear scientists, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was assassinated in November.
The new law required the Iranian government to resume enriching uranium to 20% if sanctions on the financial and oil sectors were not eased in two months. It also allows officials to block UN inspectors at various nuclear facilities.
Uranium is enriched at low levels to provide fuel for nuclear power plants and enriched by 20% or more for research reactors.
Higher levels of enrichment could accelerate the rate at which Iran could theoretically develop a nuclear bomb, which requires enrichment levels of around 90%. However, Iran has repeatedly emphasized that it has peaceful objectives for its nuclear program.