Iran is stepping up pressure on US President Joe Biden to lift economic sanctions imposed on Tehran by producing uranium metal, a process that is banned under the 2015 nuclear accords. The material can be used to form the core of a nuclear weapon. The United Nations atomic agency released a confidential report detailing Iran’s operations, which were uncovered after an agency inspection at a nuclear facility in Isfahan.
Although the UN agency reported that the uranium being produced was in small quantities, the move is undoubtedly a jab at Western countries. However, the UN saw the issue coming when Iran warned in December that it planned to begin producing the metal within five months. This was the result of a law passed in Iran’s Parliament on the first day of December. In recent months, Iran has breached the 2015 nuclear accord several times, including increasing its production of nuclear fuel, conducting enrichment processes in banned locations, and producing enriched uranium.
Read More: Iran Has Started Producing Uranium Metal, in Violation of 2015 Accords, IAEA Says