DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Iran began enriching uranium to its highest-ever purity on Friday, bringing Tehran close to weapons levels, in an effort to pressure negotiators in Vienna during talks to restore its nuclear deal with the main enrichment site.
A top official said just a few grams of uranium gas per hour would be enriched to 60% purity – three times the level it once did, but in an amount far below what the Islamic Republic could produce. Iran is also enriching an above-ground facility at its Natanz nuclear site that has already been visited by international inspectors, not deep in its underground halls paved to withstand air strikes.
The limited scope of the new enrichment provides a way for Iran to de-escalate quickly if it chooses to do so, experts say, but time is getting shorter. An Iranian presidential election looms on the horizon as Tehran already threatens to restrict international inspections. Israel, suspected of carrying out Sunday’s sabotage in Natanz, could also resume amid a long-running shadow war between the two rivals in the Middle East.
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, announced the higher enrichment on Twitter.
“The young and godly Iranian scientists managed to reach a product of 60% enriched uranium,” said Qalibaf. “I congratulate the brave nation of Islamic Iran on this success. The willpower of the Iranian nation is miraculous and can defuse any conspiracy. “
The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, the country’s civil nuclear arm, later acknowledged the move to 60%. Ali Akbar Salehi told Iranian state television that the centrifuges now produce 9 grams per hour, but that would drop to 5 grams per hour in the coming days.
“Any level of enrichment we desire is within our grasp at this point and we can do it anytime,” said Salehi.
It was not clear why the initial announcement came from Qalibaf, a hard-line former leader of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard who was already being named as a potential presidential candidate in Iran’s upcoming June elections.
While 60% is higher than any level that Iran has previously enriched uranium, it is still below weapons-grade levels of 90%. Iran had enriched up to 20% – and even that was a short technical step to weapon quality. The deal limited Iran’s fortification to 3.67%.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, which oversees Iran’s nuclear program, did not respond to a request for comment. Earlier this week, it sent its inspectors to Natanz and confirmed that Iran was preparing to start with 60% enrichment at an above-ground facility at the site.
Israel, which has twice bombed countries in the Middle East to stop their nuclear programs, plans to hold a meeting of its top security officials on the Iranian announcement on Sunday. Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi called Iran a threat during a trip to Cyprus on Friday.
“Israel is determined to defend itself against any attempt to harm its sovereignty or civilians, and will do everything it can to prevent this radical and anti-Semitic regime from acquiring nuclear weapons,” said Ashkenazi.
Iran maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful, although the West and the IAEA say Tehran had an organized military nuclear program until the end of 2003. An annual US intelligence report released Tuesday upheld the US assessment that “Iran is not currently engaged in the major nuclear weapons development activities that we believe are necessary to produce a nuclear device.”
Iran had previously said it could use up to 60% enriched uranium for nuclear-powered ships. However, the Islamic Republic does not currently have such ships in its navy.
The threat of higher enrichment by Iran had already been criticized by the US and three European countries in the deal – France, Germany and the United Kingdom. On Friday, European Union spokesman Peter Stano called Iran’s decision “a very worrying development”.
“There is no credible explanation or civil justification for such an action on Iran’s side,” Stano said. The Vienna talks aim to “ensure that we move away from such steps that move Iran further away from fulfilling its commitments and obligations.”
Diplomats met again in Vienna on Friday. Following Thursday’s talks, Chinese negotiator Wang Qun called for the elimination of “all confounding factors by making progress in the negotiations as soon as possible, especially by addressing the lifting of sanctions.”
The 2015 nuclear deal, from which former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US in 2018, prevented Iran from building enough highly enriched uranium to pursue a nuclear weapon if it chose to lift economic sanctions.
The weekend attack in Natanz was initially described only as a blackout in the power grid that fed both the above-ground workshops and the underground fortification halls – but later Iranian officials began calling it an attack.
Alireza Zakani, the harsh head of the Iranian parliament’s research center, referred in a state television interview to “several thousand centrifuges damaged and destroyed”. However, no other official has offered that figure, and no images of the aftermath have been released.
In the coming weeks, Iran has threatened to further impede IAEA inspections and potentially destroy video recordings of its facilities.Meanwhile, it continues to use advanced centrifuges and acquire high enrichment know-how, something that concerns non-proliferation experts.
“As the deal begins to fall apart, Iran is beginning to gain more knowledge about operating more sophisticated machines,” said Daryl G. Kimball, the executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association. “This particular operation, which enriches up to 60%, will give it even more information.”
Kimball borrowed a term used to describe the dilution of highly enriched uranium and added, “That knowledge cannot be phased out. It cannot be reversed. “
Associated Press Writers Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran; Fares Akram in Gaza City, Gaza Strip; Samuel Petrequin in Brussels; and David Rising and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed.