Iran has surpassed the nuclear deal’s limit of enriched uranium three times over since November, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog warned.
The International Atomic Energy Agency announced on Tuesday that Iran’s stockpile is at about 2,250 pounds as of Feb. 19, more than the approximately 448-pound limit set forward in the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan and more than the 820 pounds of enriched uranium that the IAEA reported the country had during its last report in November.
Although Iran has insisted it does not want to build a nuclear weapon, the stockpile would make it easier to do so in a quicker amount of time. President Trump pulled out of the nuclear pact in 2018, and since then, Iran has been breaking the guidelines of the deal to varying degrees.
The United States has exerted a maximum-pressure campaign against the country, attempting to squeeze the regime into compliance with biting economic sanctions. The IAEA said Tuesday that the uranium was enriched to as high as 4.5% purity.
The watchdog also said that Iran has not been cooperative and has failed to grant inspectors access to certain places.
“Iran has not provided access to the agency to two locations … and not engaged in substantive discussions to clarify agency questions related to possible undeclared nuclear material and nuclear-related activities,” the IAEA said.
There have also been concerns that Iran is hiding nuclear activity and might have undeclared nuclear material.
“The fact that we found traces [of uranium] is very important. That means there is the possibility of nuclear activities and material that are not under international supervision and about which we know not the origin or the intent. That worries me,” said Rafael Grossi, the head of the IAEA.
In addition to economic sanctions, there has also been military tension between the U.S. and Iran. In January, the two countries were on the brink of war before a de-escalation.
Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike along with Abu Mahdi al Muhandis, head of the Iranian-supported Iraqi militia group. Iran reacted to Soleimani’s death by launching more than a dozen missiles at two bases in Iraq housing U.S. troops.
