Iran Denies Reports That It’s Enriching Uranium to Near Weapons-Grade Levels

The Iranian flag flies in front of the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna on May 24, 2021. (Lisi Niesner/Reuters)

Iran has denied reports that it enriched uranium to close to weapons-grade purity after the U.N. nuclear watchdog—the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)—stated that it was in discussions with Tehran about the results of recent inspections at Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Behrouz Kamalvandi, a spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told the state-linked Fars News Agency website late on Feb. 19 that IAEA inspectors had found particles with a purity of higher than 60 percent in Tehran, according to Al Jazeera.

However, Kamalvandi downplayed the discovery.

“The existence of a uranium particle or particles with a purity of over 60 percent in the enrichment process does not mean that there has been enrichment over 60 percent,” he said.

“This is something very natural which can even occur as a result of a decrease in the feed of centrifuge cascades at a moment. What matters is the final product, and the Islamic Republic of Iran has so far not tried to enrich over 60 percent,” he said, noting that the discovery isn’t something that the agency would typically report to member states.

IAEA Talking to Tehran After Inspections

The spokesperson went on to claim that the finding has been leaked to Western media as part of a supposed smear campaign against Iran.

Kamalvandi’s comments came after the IAEA appeared to respond to a Feb. 19 report by Bloomberg that states that atomic monitors in Iran last week detected uranium enriched to levels nearly high enough for a nuclear weapon.

According to the report, the IAEA detected that Iran has accumulated uranium enriched to 84 percent purity, marking the highest level that inspectors have found in the country to date. Uranium enriched at 90 percent is considered weapons grade.

Bloomberg reported that inspectors were trying to determine whether Iran intentionally produced the enriched uranium or if the concentration was the unintended result of accumulation within the network of pipes connecting the hundreds of fast-spinning centrifuges used to separate isotopes.

“The IAEA is aware of recent media reports relating to uranium enrichment levels in Iran,” the IAEA wrote on Twitter following Bloomberg’s report. “The IAEA is discussing with Iran the results of recent Agency verification activities and will inform the IAEA Board of Governors as appropriate.”

Heightened Tensions Between US, Iran

Iran—which has seen widespread anti-government protests in recent months—began enriching uranium to up to 60 percent purity in April 2021. In November 2022, it began enriching to 60 percent at a second facility in Fordow, which is dug into a mountain.

Last year, the head of Israeli military intelligence, Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, said Iran is moving closer to reaching 90 percent-enriched uranium, which he stressed posed “the greatest test of the international community.”

Amid growing concerns that Iran is bolstering its nuclear capabilities, Washington has been trying to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, for months.

However, talks have broken down between the two nations, in part because of what the Biden administration says are Iran’s “unrealistic” demands.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have been further exacerbated after reports emerged that Iran is supplying drones to Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine.

Over the weekend, European Union officials again called on Iran to cooperate with the IAEA and restore its complete monitoring access.

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell Fontelles, wrote on Twitter on Feb. 19 that he had spoken with Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, and had “underlined again the EU’s position on Iran’s behaviour: stop human rights violations, stop support to Russia’s war of aggression, and stop unjustified detention of EU citizens.”

“Iran urgently needs to cooperate with IAEA,” Borrell wrote.