AEOI Denies Enriching Uranium Above 60%

Iran has never attempted to enrich uranium over 60% purity, a senior nuclear official said in response to reports about the detection of much higher enriched particles in the country.  
“Such news is published with political purposes and in order to smear [Iran],” Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, was quoted as saying by ISNA. 
A report was first published by Bloomberg on Sunday, citing two diplomats as saying that the International Atomic Energy Agency has found uranium enriched to 84% in Iran, very close to weapons grade which is around 90%. 
Kamalvandi said that the existence of higher purity uranium in each stage of the enrichment process is natural. 
For instance, in the process of enriching uranium to 20%, particles with 47% purity are seen, and likewise, while enriching to 60%, higher levels are found, he explained. 
“This is normal and Iran feels no need for secrecy in this regard,” he said, adding that assessment criterion in the process of enrichment is only the final product. 
The UN nuclear watchdog said on Twitter on Sunday that it is aware of recent media reports relating to uranium enrichment levels in Iran. 
“The IAEA is discussing with Iran the results of recent Agency verification activities and will inform the IAEA Board of Governors as appropriate,” it added. 
Earlier this month, the agency criticized Iran for failing to inform it of a “substantial” change to the interconnections between the two cascades, or clusters, of centrifuges enriching uranium to up to 60% at the Fordow enrichment plant. 
Several diplomats said the change meant Iran could quickly switch to a higher enrichment level.
A diplomat told Reuters on Monday that “the issue is whether [the 84% purity material] was a blip in the reconfigured cascades or deliberate. The agency has asked Iran for an explanation.” 
Iran has been enriching uranium to up to 60% purity since April 2021, much above the 3.67% cap imposed by the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in return for sanctions relief.  
The measure was part of Iran’s countermeasures against the United States’ reimposition of sanctions, after its withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018. 

Unprofessional Reports

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Monday censured the publication of reports in the media about technical issues that are still under investigation, describing it as “unprofessional”. 
“Such moves are not professional and would not help address technical issues between Iran and the agency,” he said at a regular press briefing, urging the IAEA to meet its technical duties. 
He reiterated Iran’s commitment to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and its related safeguards agreements, saying professional cooperation with the IAEA is an important principle for the Islamic Republic.
Iran denies any intention to develop a nuclear bomb, maintaining that its nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes. 
Kanaani also warned against political exploitation of the agency which would degrade the professional position of this important international organization. 
“We condemn objectification of the agency for abuse and impacting the process of negotiations [on reviving the JCPOA],” he said, hoping the IAEA would act within the framework of its professional responsibilities and play a role as facilitator. 
Negotiations have been underway since early 2021 to work out how both Iran and the US can resume compliance with the nuclear deal, but the talks have been stalled for months over final differences. 
A stumbling block is the IAEA investigations into nuclear material that it claims have been found at three undeclared sites in Iran. 
Tehran rejects intelligence about the particles as fabricated and demands the closure of the probe before any deal on JCPOA revival.