A secret report from the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA ) on Monday found that Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium had exceeded the 30-times-permit limit that Tehran had agreed to in the country’s 2015 nuclear agreement.
Iran currently has 6, 201 kilograms of enriched uranium in its inventory, according to the IAEA document, which has not been made public but was reviewed by Associated Press ( AP ) reporters. This is a significant increase of 675.8 pounds from the most recent IAEA report in February.
In addition, the IAEA report claimed that Iran is also stifling its activities by preventing its most knowledgeable investigators from inspecting nuclear facilities.
IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi traveled to Iran in early May. He offered some motivation and enthusiasm for the Iranians while he was in the region, but, as soon as he departed, he complained about Iran’s” fully inadequate” level of cooperation with his nuclear investigators.
” The current position is fully unsuitable for me. When Grossi returned from Tehran to Vienna,” We are nearly at an deadlock, and this needs to be changed.”
Grossi claimed in January that Iran today has enough enriched uranium to produce” some nuclear arms.” He meant by Iran’s stored nearly-waffen-grade material, which was far beyond any reasonable need for it to be refined further and produce basic molecular weapons.
Grossi and another IAEA officials are cautious about Iran’s growing uranium stash because they are concerned that pushing them too hard could reduce their cooperation. Iran’s participation in the Gaza conflict and its growing relationship with Russia have also been cited as justifications for treading cautiously.
On the other hand, the private IAEA record expressed some optimism that Iran’s new administration may act more diplomatically after President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter accident.
The Biden administration is pressuring Europe to back away from plans to criticize Iran for its uranium refinement, according to The Wall Street Journal ( WSJ), which frequently publishes unsubstantiated and anonymous claims as “exclusive” journalism.
The UK and France were alarmed by the private IAEA analysis of Iran’s growing companies of enriched uranium, according to this report, citing “diplomats involved in discussions” and worried that Iran’s disobedience may harm the IAEA’s trust.  ,
On the other hand, the Biden administration is reportedly anxious that Raisi’s death increased Iran’s “volatile” and that sanctions could force Tehran to become completely unrepentant about the Obama atomic package, a aim the Biden team still values despite years of provocations and intransigence from the Iranians.
The Europeans, who were generally in favor of reviving the nuclear deal until recently, reportedly find Biden’s refusal to censure Iran for even the most excessive violations “frustrating”.
The Biden administration is privately telling European officials that it will request a comprehensive IAEA report, which could be used to trigger a” snapback” of the sanctions against Iran that were lifted by Obama’s nuclear deal, but not until after the November U.S. presidential election. Donald Trump, the oppopotent candidate, withdrew the country from the nuclear deal in 2018 and would likely have a hard time accepting Biden’s admission that Iran has grossly violated the agreement.
