TEHRAN, Oct 11 (NNN-TASNIM) – Head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) said, his country’s stockpile of 20-percent enriched uranium exceeded 120 kg.
Regarding the storage of 20 percent enriched uranium, “we have exceeded 120 kg and in this matter, we are ahead of the plan,” Mohammad Eslami, was quoted as saying.
According to the 2015 nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), “20-percent uranium fuel was supposed to be given to the Tehran reactor, but it was not given,” Eslami said.
“If we had not started producing this amount of fuel ourselves, this has turned into one of our problems today,” he added.
The 20-percent uranium enrichment process was launched, as a part of Iran’s Strategic Action Plan to counter U.S. sanctions, which was approved by the Iranian parliament in Dec, 2020.
According to the parliament’s bill, the AEOI should produce 120 kg of 20-percent enriched uranium within a year after the implementation of the action plan, which began on Jan 4, 2021.
Iranian authorities said, the boost in uranium enrichment, along with other measures to reduce some commitments under the JCPOA, is a reaction to the U.S. withdrawal from the deal and the failure of European signatories, to protect Iran’s interests amid U.S. energy and banking sanctions.– NNN-TASNIM
