Iran's enriched uranium stockpile '10 times limit' set in nuclear deal, says IAEA

Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium now stands at more than 10 times the limit which was set in the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, said the United Nations nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency, on September 4. IAEA also found out that Iran has been providing access to sites where it had stored or used undeclared nuclear material. According to the Associated Press, which has viewed a confidential document distributed by the IAEA to members of the nuclear deal, Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium has increased from 1,571.6 kilograms in May to 2,105.4 kilograms as of August 25. 

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Violation of nuclear deal

According to the 2015 deal, which is also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Iran can only keep a stockpile of  202.8 kilograms. As per reports, IAEA said that the stockpile of enriched uranium is enough to produce a weapon and stated that Iran is enriching uranium to a purity of up to 4.5 percent, while the 2015 nuclear agreement doesn't allow the purity to be above 3.67 percent. Also, the IAEA found out that Iran has been continuing to enrich uranium to a purity of up to 4.5 per cent. 

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According to the reports, the nuclear deal was signed with the United States, Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia. The deal promised Iran economic incentives for the curbs on its nuclear program. Under the deal, it was agreed that Iran would scale down its uranium enrichment programme and in exchange international sanctions against the country would be lifted. However, after the Trump administration's unilateral withdrawal from the Obama-era deal, the United States reimposed sanctions on the country preventing it from selling oil and gas to the world, which is a major source of income for the Middle East nation. Since then, Iran has been violating the restrictions set under JCPOA. The remaining parties reportedly said that even though Iran has been violating the pacts, the deal should be kept in place as Iran continues to provide access to inspect its nuclear facilities.

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(Image Credits: Unsplash/AP)