Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Iran Challenges US, Increases Uranium Enrichment to 60%


Wed 14 Apr 2021 | 12:43 PM
Nawal Sayed

After Iran raised the rate of uranium enrichment, France called for unified US, Russian, Chinese and European coordination; describing the development as "dangerous". US media said that International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors will visit the Iranian facility, Natanz, today, Wednesday.

France stressed that Iran's announcement that it would begin enriching uranium to a purity of 60% is a "dangerous development" and requires coordination between the US, Russia, China and the European trio.

Iran is currently enriching uranium to 20%. Enrichment of 60% would make Iran able to move quickly to 90% and more, which used for military purposes.

This comes as the White House announced, Tuesday, that it is concerned about Iran's "provocative" announcement of increasing uranium enrichment, but expects negotiations to continue in Geneva.

The White House said, "The United States takes seriously Iran's announcement of the start of uranium enrichment."

The US National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, reaffirmed the US’s firm commitment to Israel's security and to ensuring that Iran does not possess a nuclear weapon.

Earlier, Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran Abbas Araghchi told official Iranian media, Tuesday, that Tehran will start on Wednesday enriching uranium by 60%.

He also revealed that Iran will install 1000 advanced centrifuges (its capacity is 50% higher than the current devices) in the Natanz nuclear facility, as well as replace the "destroyed machines" as a result of an explosion that occurred on Sunday in this nuclear complex in central Iran.

Araghchi added that Tehran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency of these two measures in a letter it sent to the agency’s director-general, Rafael Grossi.

Regarding the Vienna talks, it was decided to resume talks on the Iranian nuclear deal, on Wednesday, which was confirmed by the Iranian and Russian missions.

The Geneva negotiations are overshadowed by the bombing of the Natanz nuclear site.

The Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, warned Tuesday that "sabotage operations" and the imposition of "sanctions" would not support the US position in the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear file.

"Let the Americans know that neither sanctions nor acts of sabotage will provide them with tools for negotiation and that these actions will make the situation more complicated for them," Zarif said during a press conference 48 hours after the incident that affected Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment plant.

An intelligence official told the New York Times that an explosive device was smuggled into the Natanz facility and was detonated from a distance.

The intelligence official added that the Natanz bombing destroyed the main and backup electrical systems.