IAEA Falsely Hints Iran Nuclear Program Isn’t Peaceful

 

Iran's uranium stockpile grew 10% over summer

by Jason Ditz 

Posted onSeptember 7, 2022CategoriesNewsTagsIAEA, Iran

Continuing to undercut the ongoing nuclear talks, the IAEA issued a statement warning that they can’t assure Iran’s nuclear program is entirely peaceful.

This is a recurring issue, as the IAEA wants to keep the US and others placated. The simplest way to do that is to claim the situation is unresolved, and that means deceptive fear-mongering.

The media are dutifully spreading this narrative, claiming Iran has “almost enough” uranium for a nuclear bomb, accompanied with the same caveats as usual about further processing which isn’t happening.

The reality is that Iran’s civilian program is exactly the same as its been, and the evidence is that the uranium stockpile grows steadily, with none being diverted to any military purposes.

The stockpile rests at 3,621.3 kg  as of August 21, up roughly 10% from the last report in May. The stockpile is not meant to be public, but leaks to the press virtually immediately.

Iran’s enriched uranium is all far below weapons-grade, and has never attempted further enrichment to weapons-grade levels. Weapons grade is minimum 90%, Iran’s stockpile is mostly sub 20%. All indications are that Iran is content with low-level enrichment and civilian purposes. 3.3% enrichment, for instance is used to generate electricity.

The IAEA comments are likely to worsen diplomacy at the talks, since the US will say the IAEA doesn’t trust them, and Iran has yet more evidence that there is no convincing the IAEA.

https://news.antiwar.com/2022/09/07/iaea-falsely-hints-iran-nuclear-program-isnt-peaceful/