Iran is increasing production of highly enriched uranium: Atomic watchdog report

Iran has increased its production of near weapons-grade uranium in recent weeks, reversing a prior slowdown that commenced in the middle of this year, according to a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency to its member states. Iran “in recent weeks had increased its production of highly enriched uranium, reversing a previous output reduction from mid-2023," according to an IAEA spokesperson Sunday, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in the report.

Iran had previously slowed down the rate at which it was enriching uranium to 60% purity. Uranium enriched at 60% purity is just a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. The U.N. nuclear watchdog said its inspectors had verified the increased rate of production since the end of November at facilities in Natanz and Fordow to about 9 kilograms per month, up from 3 kilograms per month since June and representing a return to earlier levels of production. Enriching uranium means increasing the percentage of uranium-235, the isotope of uranium that can be used in nuclear fission. With inputs from AP.