DPA
VIENNA
Iran is pursuing enrichment projects at its central Fordo underground nuclear facility, in addition to the Natans site, the Iranian nuclear organization said on Tuesday.
Iran has begun enriching uranium to 60 percent purity at the Fordo facility, Iran’s ISNA news agency said, citing the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) on Tuesday.
The AEOI says this move is in reaction to a resolution passed last week by the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which Tehran has condemned as politically motivated.
The IAEA steering committee accused Tehran on Thursday of a lack of transparency regarding Iran’s nuclear programme and indirectly threatened to call in the UN Security Council. A resolution to this effect was passed in Vienna.
Iran threatened retaliation shortly afterwards.
After the US pulled out of the multi-party international nuclear deal with Iran in 2018, Tehran began to break restrictions agreed upon in the deal, making IAEA inspections more difficult.
Currently, Iran enriches uranium to a purity level of 60 percent, which the IAEA says is just below the 90 percent level required for nuclear weapons.
The AEOI claims it is technically capable of increasing enrichment to 90 percent purity.
According to the 2015 Vienna nuclear deal, however, Iran is not permitted to enrich its uranium above 4 percent purity.
