Iran produces uranium metal in latest breach of 2015 nuclear deal: IAEA

The UN atomic agency on February 10 said that Iran has started to produce uranium metal, marking the latest breach of the 2015 nuclear agreement by Tehran. According to NBC News, inspectors for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verified that Iran had produced a small amount of uranium metal at a nuclear plant in Isfahan, the agency’s spokesman Fredrik Dahl said. In a report, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi even informed the agency’s member states about the development. 

The 2015 nuclear deal has been largely in tatter since Donald Trump withdrew from it unilaterally in 2018 and reimposed harsh sanctions as part of a policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran. Iran has maintained that it has only pursued a civilian nuclear energy programme. However, Trump withdrew from the deal and bolstered sanctions on Tehran in a bid to force them into talks on a broader agreement that also addressed its ballistic missile programs and support for proxies around the Middle East. 

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The material, on the other hand, can be used to build the core of a nuclear weapon. The 2015 nuclear deal forbids producing uranium metal or researching and developing uranium metallurgy for 15 years. The production of uranium metal also complicated any potential diplomacy between Tehran and the new US administration when each government has staked out negotiating positions that put the onus on the other side to take the first conciliatory step. 

Iran threatens to impose restrictions on IAEA 

Iran had notified the IAEA previously that it planned to take the step, prompting a warning from European governments. The EU had said that producing uranium metal was prohibited by the 2015 deal, that there was “no credible civilian use” for uranium metal and that the move posed “potentially grave military implications”. However, Iran says that it remains within the parameters of the 2015 agreement, arguing that it was the US that violated the deal by withdrawing from the pact in 2018 and reimposing sanctions. 

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US President Joe Biden, however, has said that Washington will not lift sanctions to get back Iran on the negotiating table and indicated that the measure will only happen if Tehran stops enriching uranium. In an interview with CBS News, when Biden was asked if he would initiate the move to start negotiations, he replied “No”. Further, in the newly released clip, when he was asked of the Islamic Republic must stop enriching uranium first, he nodded. Ever since Biden acquired the US presidency in January, these are the first direct public response on Iran as both nations share a strenuous relationship.

Meanwhile, Iran has warned that it could impose restrictions on IAEA inspectors in the country on February 21 if the US does not lift sanctions, which would mark the most serious breach of the deal so far. The United States and the European powers say access for the inspectors is a crucial element of the agreement. 

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