Fears were growing that Iran is stepping up its efforts to get nuclear weapons by “dramatically” increasing the amount of uranium enriched to up to 60% purity that it is able to produce.
The nuclear watchdog raised the alarm about the move by Tehran.
It is certain to cause even greater alarm in Western capitals already arguing that there is no civil justification for Iran’s enrichment to that level as no other country has done so without producing nuclear bombs, which Iran denies pursuing.
Iran already has enough material enriched to up to 60%, its most highly enriched stock, for four nuclear weapons in principle if it enriched it further to 90%, according to an IAEA yardstick.
It has enough for more at lower enrichment levels.
“Today the agency is announcing that the production capacity is increasing dramatically of the 60% inventory,” International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said on the sidelines of the Manama Dialogue security conference in Bahrain’s capital.
He added that it was set to rise to “seven, eight times more, maybe, or even more” than the previous rate of 5-7 kg a month.
The move is also a setback for Mr Grossi since he said after a trip to Iran last month that Tehran had accepted his “request” that it cap its stock of uranium enriched to up to 60% to ease diplomatic tensions, calling it “a concrete step in the right direction”.
Diplomats said at the time, however, that Iran’s step, which included preparing to implement that cap, was conditional on the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors not passing a resolution against Iran over its insufficient cooperation with the agency, which the Board then did regardless.
The increased enrichment threatens to spark a new showdown between Donald Trump’s incoming administration and Tehran.
Trump pulled America out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May 2018, calling it “a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made”.
He urged Britain and other nations to follow his lead.
Iran signed up to the JCPOA in 2015 with a group of world powers known as the P5+1 - the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany.
Tehran agreed under the deal to limit its sensitive nuclear activities and allow in international inspectors in return for the lifting of hefty economic sanctions.
The agreement also banned anyone from buying, selling or transferring drones and missiles to and from Iran, which has been clearly breached by the supply by Tehran of drones and missiles for Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
With tensions already high in the Middle East over the Gaza conflict, the increased enrichment by Tehran will only make the region even more febrile, coming after direct military attacks between Israel and Iran.
