Iran offers to cap sensitive uranium stock to avoid IAEA resolution
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Iran offers to cap sensitive uranium stock to avoid IAEA resolution
Reuters-Nov19th2024
VIENNA, Nov 19 (Reuters) – Iran has offered not to expand its stock of uranium enriched to up to 60% purity, near the roughly 90% of weapons grade, and made preparations to do that, the U.N. Nuclear watchdog said in confidential reports to member states on Tuesday.
The offer is conditional, however, on Western powers abandoning their push for a resolution against Iran at this week’s meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors over its lack of cooperation with the IAEA, diplomats said, adding that the push was continuing.
During IAEA chief Rafael Grossi’s trip to Iran last week, “the possibility of Iran not further expanding its stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60% U-235 was discussed”, read one of the two confidential quarterly IAEA reports, both seen by Reuters.
It added that the IAEA had verified that Iran had “begun implementation of preparatory measures”.
Iran’s offer was to cap the stock of uranium enriched to up to 60% at around 185 kg, or the amount it had two days ago, a senior diplomat said. That is enough in principle, if enriched further, for four nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons.
The report said Iran’s stock of uranium enriched to up to 60% had grown by 17.6 kg since the previous report to 182.3 kg as of Oct. 26, also enough for four weapons by that measure.
INSPECTORS
The second report said Iran had also agreed to consider allowing four more “experienced inspectors” to work in Iran after it barred most of the IAEA’s inspectors who are experts in enrichment last year in what the IAEA called a “very serious blow” to its ability to do its job properly in Iran.
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