The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Iran has increased its enriched uranium capacity to 6,201.3 kilograms, up from about 300 kilograms under the 2015 nuclear deal.
The IAEA’s quarterly report on Iran’s nuclear activities, which is shared with its board members, included data on the country’s enriched uranium capacity.
The report stated that Iran has far exceeded the level of enriched uranium set in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal signed in 2015.
As of May 11, Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile rose to 6,201.3 kilograms, an increase of 675.8 kilograms compared to the previous quarterly report.
The report pointed out that the Tehran administration continues to produce uranium with 60 percent purity, Iran has a stock of 142 kilograms of enriched uranium with 60 percent purity, and has increased its production by more than 20 kilograms compared to the previous report.
Iran nuclear deal
The nuclear deal between Iran and the so-called P5+1 countries – the permanent members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the European Union – was reached in July 2015 after nearly three years of negotiations.
The nuclear deal, which began to be implemented in 2016, limited Iran to enriching uranium to 3.67 percent and keeping its enriched uranium stockpile to 300 kilograms.
Implementation of the deal ran into problems after the United States unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran.
Despite attempts to maintain the deal, no progress was made and Iran began to increase its stockpile of low-enriched uranium in 2019.
Especially after the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in 2020, the Tehran government announced that it would not comply with the limits set in the agreement, but would inform the IAEA about the steps it was taking.
In this process, Iran increased its enrichment rate, which was limited to 3.67 percent under the agreement, to 60 percent, while replacing the simple centrifuges used in uranium enrichment with advanced modern centrifuges, both increasing the enrichment level and increasing its capacity.
