Iran has produced 200g of 20%-enriched uranium metal: UN nuclear agency

The UN nuclear agency says Iran has made progress in its work on enriched uranium metal, as Tehran and the remaining signatories to a 2015 agreement on Iran's nuclear program are making efforts to revive the deal, which was abandoned by the US in 2018.

"On 14 August 2021, the Agency verified ... that Iran had used 257 g of uranium enriched up to 20% U-235 in the form of UF4 (uranium tetrafluoride) to produce 200 g of uranium metal enriched up to 20% U-235," the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a report to member states on Monday seen by Reuters.

It added that this was step three in a four-step plan by Iran, which Tehran said were aimed at developing fuel for a research reactor. The fourth includes producing a reactor fuel plate.

Iran’s enriched uranium metal production serves peaceful purposes: Foreign Ministry

Iran asserts that its pending production of enriched uranium metal is in line with peaceful purposes.

Iran's representative to the international organizations in Vienna said in July that the Islamic Republic would soon produce enriched uranium metal and that the country had earlier informed the United Nations nuclear watchdog of the move.

Iran to soon produce enriched uranium metal; IAEA already informed

Iran

Kazem Gharibabadi added that the uranium silicide plate enriched to 20 percent purity would be used as fuel for a research reactor in the capital, Tehran.

His remarks came after the IAEA said in a statement that Iran intends to use domestically enriched uranium (U-235) with 20 percent purity as fuel in the Tehran reactor.

"Today, Iran informed the Agency that UO2 (uranium oxide) enriched up to 20% U-235 would be shipped to the R&D laboratory at a plant in Esfahan, where it would be converted to UF4 (uranium tetrafluoride) and then to uranium metal enriched to 20% U-235, before using it to manufacture the fuel," the statement said.

Since April, representatives from Iran and the remaining signatories to the JCPOA -- Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China -- have been holding face-to-face talks in the Austrian capital aimed at bringing the US back to compliance and putting the deal back on track.

So far, six rounds of negotiations have been held in the Austrian capital, as a result of which, according to participants, “significant progress” has been made in the course of the “constructive” and “businesslike” talks.

However, disagreements have persisted over a number of issues, including how to sequence the US sanctions removal, with Tehran arguing that since Washington was the party that violated the terms of the agreement, it should take the first step back into compliance with the deal by removing its unilateral sanctions.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raeisi told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on August 9 that the rights of the Iranian nation must be guaranteed in any negotiations and its interests must be met.

Iranian nation’s rights must be guaranteed in any negotiations: President Raeisi

President Raeisi says the Iranian nation

Emphasizing that both the United States and European countries must fulfill their obligations as per the nuclear deal, Iran’s president said, “The rights of the Iranian nation must be guaranteed in any negotiations and the interests of our nation must be met.”

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