Iran enriches to 20% with new centrifuges at fortified site

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By NASSER KARIMI

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran announced Sunday that it has begun enriching uranium up to 20% using sophisticated centrifuges at its underground Fordo nuclear plant, state TV reported, an escalation that comes amid a standoff with the West over its tattered atomic deal.

That Tehran is enriching uranium up to 20% purity — a technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90% — with a new set of its most advanced centrifuges at a facility deep inside a mountain deals yet another blow to the already slim chances of reviving the accord.

Behrouz Kamalvandi, a spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, said uranium enriched to 20% was collected for the first time from advanced IR-6 centrifuges on Saturday. He said Iran had informed the U.N. nuclear watchdog about the development two weeks ago.

Centrifuges are used to spin enriched uranium into higher levels of purity. Tehran’s 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers had called for Fordo to become a research-and-development facility and restricted centrifuges there to non-nuclear uses.



FILE - Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi, right, speaks with deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Behrouz Kamalvandi at Imam Khomeini Airport, in Tehran, Iran, Nov. 22, 2021. Iran announced Sunday, July 10, 2022, that it has begun enriching uranium up to 20% using sophisticated centrifuges at its underground Fordo nuclear plant, state TV reported, an escalation that comes amid a standoff with the West over its tattered atomic deal. Kamalvandi said uranium enriched to 20% was collected for the first time from advanced IR-6 centrifuges on Saturday. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP, File)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-iran-nuclear-united-nations-51cb62796ace2c64ba9278197d9b5464

[ruet]

1. And Somehow...

this will be blamed on President Biden. I'll bet my hat on it.

As a reminder for everyone.

Trump Abandons Iran Nuclear Deal He Long Scorned

[karynnj]

2. Actually, Biden will be blamed if Iran doesn't accept a new JCPOA AND if they do - no matter

what the details are. Remember the Obama (and the other JCPOA leaders) were faulted that the deal would only have the most intrusive surveillance in any IAEA monitoring deal and would keep them from developing nuclear weapons for at least a decade. Not to mention, had BOTH sides abided by it, it would have built trust to enable them to cooperate on other things in both countrys' interest.

Even more than Trump, Netanyahu is a villain here. Israel's military and intelligence heads agreed that the deal was in Israel's interest. Yet he led the fight against it. Trump may not have been smart enough to understand that breaking the deal made it MUCH harder to get a new one as it proved that Iran's belief that they could not trust the US was unfortunately proved true and it undercut the more moderate (though still not moderate) Iranians who negotiated it - giving more power to the more extreme forces.

[oldsoftie]

3. Surprising absolutely no one. They're no better than Russia or China

cheat lie & obfuscate.

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

5. They were holding to the deal until TFG broke it.

They might very well have broken it themselves down the line, but now we'll never know.

[bhikkhu]

6. I think plenty og non-nuclear countries are watching Ukraine get pounded

and weighing their options. I think before that Iran would have gone ahead without nukes, if sanctions relief were pat of it, but none of that really worked out. It's hard to blame them really, though it'd still be better to talk them down if that's even possible.

[ripcord]

4. Israel will deal with it

[ck4829]

8. With logic and reason, convincing Iran that they don't need to enrich uranium using debate

"What kind of crazy country does this, who I say? Who?"

[Justice matters.]

7. Since PNAC republiQans want their oil...

I guess they would want a deterrent?

Yes, their religious Dear Leaders are bad, BUT big oil and republiQan Christaliban ain't better...

[EX500rider]

9. Sure every country with a peaceful nuclear program..

.... Puts it in a hardened bunker underground
🙄