On Monday, two confidential reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) disclosed that Iran is steadily increasing its enriched uranium stockpile.
Discussions between Iran and the IAEA are currently stalled as Iran increases its uranium enrichment to weapons-grade. The main point of consternation lies in the fact that Iran has only implemented a small number of safeguarding steps it promised to regarding its nuclear program. Last year, Iran and the IAEA agreed upon these steps in a “Joint Statement” for cooperation. According to the IAEA Chied Rafael Grossi, “There has been no progress in the past year towards implementing the Joint Statement”. Earlier this month, Grossi traveled to Iran for talks with top officials regarding improving cooperation and increasing IAEA monitoring. Talks have been stalled following the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi last week. The last resolution passed 18 months ago by the IAEA ordered Iran to comply with an investigation into uranium particles discovered at undeclared sites. One report claimed that Iran’s uranium has reached 60% enrichment purity, only 30% away from weapons-grade. The report stated that the enriched stockpile grew by 20.6 kg to 142.1 kg over the quarter. France and Britain are calling for a new resolution to address Iran at the next IAEA board meeting.
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