VIENNA – Iran has agreed to enhanced monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at its Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), where it recently escalated uranium enrichment to levels near weapons-grade, the IAEA reported on Thursday.
The agreement follows the agency’s disclosure last week that Iran had significantly increased the pace of uranium enrichment to up to 60% purity at Fordow, a level Western powers have described as dangerously close to the 90% required for nuclear weapons. The move was labeled an “extremely serious escalation” in the ongoing standoff over Iran’s nuclear programme.
The IAEA, in a confidential report to member states, confirmed that Iran has consented to increased safeguards, including more frequent and intensive inspections at Fordow. “Iran agreed to the Agency’s request to increase the frequency and intensity of the implementation of safeguards measures at FFEP and is facilitating the implementation of this strengthened safeguards approach,” the report stated.
By enriching uranium hexafluoride feedstock to up to 20% purity before feeding it into centrifuges already operating at 60%, Iran has dramatically increased its production of highly enriched uranium. According to the IAEA, Iran can now produce over 34 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% per month at Fordow—around six times the amount previously produced across its Fordow and Natanz facilities combined.
Experts say roughly 42 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% could, if further enriched, be sufficient for one nuclear weapon. The IAEA estimates that Iran already possesses more than four times that amount, as well as additional quantities at lower enrichment levels.
Western nations argue that Iran’s enrichment to 60% lacks any civilian justification, noting that no other country enriches uranium to such a high level without pursuing nuclear weapons. Iran, however, denies any intention to develop nuclear arms, asserting that its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes.
The IAEA’s strengthened monitoring regime is viewed as a critical step in addressing concerns over Iran’s nuclear activities, but tensions remain high as diplomatic efforts to resolve the nuclear impasse continue to stall.