Fire in the hold: US, Europe split on Iran’s Uranium purity response

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The Wall Street Journal
2 Mar 2023 22:14
3 Shares

The US and its European allies have previously disagreed on how to deal with Iran's nuclear program, as per WSJ, and this one time is nothing new.

A satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows Iran’s Fordow plant (AFP)

The United States and its European allies are divided over how to respond to Iran's production of alleged near-weapons-grade uranium, with Britain, France, and Germany urging public condemnation of Tehran and the Biden administration being hesitant, a new report by The Wall Street Journal revealed.

The International Atomic Energy Agency reported this week that Iran had generated 84% enriched uranium particles in recent weeks, barely short of the 90% required for weapons-grade nuclear fuel. In response, Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) denied all accusations that Iran is enriching uranium to 84% purity, ensuring that Tehran isn't deviating from its peaceful nuclear activities.

Moreover, Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), refuted information mentioned in a report published by Bloomberg.

In its report, Bloomberg claimed that inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) found uranium materials in Iran enriched up to 84%, adding that "inspectors need to determine whether Iran intentionally produced the material, or whether the concentration was an unintended accumulation within the network of pipes connecting the hundreds of fast-spinning centrifuges used to separate the isotopes."

In response, Kamalvandi said the Bloomberg report is an attempt to falsify facts, explaining that throughout the enrichment process, the presence of uranium particles with purity levels exceeding 60% does not mean that uranium is being enriched at levels above 60%.

The report further argues that "the production of weapons-grade material could spark a crisis over Tehran’s nuclear program."

It could be "the trigger to kill off the 2015 nuclear deal," WSJ reported citing European officials.

Israeli officials have claimed that weapons-grade enrichment is a red line, but they have not stated publicly what their response would be. America has consistently urged Iran to not cross that line, as per the report.

Although a Western-induced hysteria is focused on Iran's nuclear program, which the country always assured is peaceful, "Israel" is repeatedly deemed the real threat in the region, but not by the international community.

It is worth noting that "Israel" is the only entity in the Middle East region and one of the few UN members (193 total) that have not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). When it comes to halting the proliferation of nuclear weapons, "Israel" is exempted from accountability.

In another context, the IAEA is currently in talks with Iran over the detection of uranium particles enriched to 84% purity, at the Fordow enrichment plant, according to a report obtained by Reuters on Tuesday.

In a prior assessment, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chastised Iran for making significant adjustments to its cascades without notifying the agency.

"Regarding the origin of the particles enriched above 60% U-235, identified after the implementation of the new cascade configuration at FFEP, discussions with Iran are still continuing," the IAEA report to member states which Reuters disclosed.

However, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said on February 5 that Tehran did inform the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) late last year that it will increase the enrichment of Uranium at Fordow to 60%.

When the incident was originally reported in the media, European officials warned that uranium enrichment at that level would be "an unprecedented and extremely grave development."

The diplomats claimed Britain, France, and Germany planned to formally condemn Iran at an IAEA board of governors meeting next week by passing a resolution condemning Tehran's nuclear operations.

The board has the authority to send the case to the United Nations Security Council but has not done so in the past when Iran has been censured.

Although no final decision has been made, US officials are advocating against a rebuke. Washington is interested in learning what the agency finds regarding the material's production, the report revealed. IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi is traveling to Iran on Thursday.

They also pointed out that Iran was censured at the last IAEA board meeting in November. Without Washington's assistance, European countries are unlikely to push for a resolution.

In a news briefing on Wednesday, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price stated that the US would "continue to consult very closely with our allies to do what we believe would be most effective" in dealing with Iran's nuclear challenge ahead of the IAEA board meeting.

The report asserted that it's not the first time the US and its European allies have disagreed on how to deal with Iran's nuclear program.

It further recalled when leading European negotiators departed the Vienna talks on resurrecting the nuclear deal in March of last year. At the time, the US and Iran were still talking, and the EU was frustrated that Washington would not reach an agreement with Iran.

European officials said as quoted by WSJ that Washington has been unwilling in the past year to either pay the political cost of resurrecting the nuclear accord or incur the risks of a harsher stance on Iran's nuclear activity.