Iran is refusing to permit international inspectors into its nuclear facilities that sustained damage during military strikes in June.
This critical information was disclosed in a confidential report released by the U.N. atomic watchdog on Wednesday. The report further warned that accounting for Iran’s total enriched uranium supply is now “long overdue.”
Verification Knowledge Lost
The atomic watchdog’s own procedural rules mandate monthly verification of a country’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
This material includes uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity, which is a short technical distance from the 90 percent needed for weapons grade.
The agency has repeatedly demanded for months that Iran clarify the current state of its uranium stockpile. It has also urged a rapid return to full, comprehensive inspections.
Although the two nations announced an accord in Cairo last September intended to clear the way for resumed inspections, minimal progress has resulted. Furthermore, Iran has since declared the initial agreement invalid.
The agency stated in its report that five months have passed without permission to access the nuclear material. Consequently, essential verification is “long overdue.” The report emphasized the severity of the situation:
“It is critical that the Agency is able to verify the inventories of previously declared nuclear material in Iran as soon as possible.”
This verification is necessary to ease serious concerns about the potential diversion of declared nuclear material for non-peaceful purposes.
The quantity of highly enriched uranium Iran has accumulated remains “a matter of serious concern.” The atomic watchdog has now lost its “continuity of knowledge” regarding the enriched uranium stocks. Regaining an accurate, full picture of these materials will be both a lengthy and complex undertaking.
Damaged Sites Remain Sealed
The international agency’s inspection capabilities face severe limitations. The organization has managed to examine only some of the 13 nuclear facilities that were “unaffected” by the attacks. Crucially, none of the seven facilities that sustained damage have yet been inspected.
Before the military strikes, which destroyed one of Iran’s three active enrichment facilities and seriously damaged others, the agency estimated the nation possessed 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity.
By the agency’s measurement standard, that specific amount of material, if further processed, is theoretically enough to produce the core for 10 nuclear bombs.
As a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran has a legal duty. It must submit a special, detailed report to the agency about the condition of the bombed facilities “without delay.”
The report confirmed Iran has still failed to provide this mandatory documentation. The atomic watchdog is prevented from inspecting the damaged sites until that critical report is delivered.
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