IAEA Confirms Iran Has Complied with Nuclear Deal

Iran’s stock of low-enriched uranium as of May 27 was 79.8 kilograms, well below the agreed limit of 300 kilograms, the IAEA said in a confidential report on Friday.

It added that the level of uranium enrichment did not exceed a 3.67 percent cap – well under the maximum five percent regarded as suitable for civilian energy uses.

The new IAEA report, the second since the January inauguration of US President Donald Trump, was sent to the member states amid increasing tensions between Tehran and Washington. Trump has called the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), “the worst deal ever negotiated” and vowed to “dismantle” the “disastrous” deal.

According to the quarterly assessment, Iran’s stock of heavy water, a chemical used as a moderator in a type of nuclear reactor that can produce plutonium, was 128.2 tonnes on May 16. Under the JCPOA, Tehran has agreed to keep its heavy water stockpile below 130 metric tonnes.

Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China – plus Germany signed the mammoth agreement in July 2015 and started implementing it in January 2016.

Under the JCPOA, Iran undertook to put limitations on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran.

The UN nuclear agency, in its quarterly report in February, the first since President Trump’s inauguration, said the Islamic Republic has stockpiled roughly half of the enriched uranium allowed under the JCPOA.

“As of 18 February 2017, the quantity of Iran’s uranium enriched up to 3.67 percent U-235 was 101.7 kg,” the IAEA said, adding that it is well below the agreed level of 202.8 kilos, which is equivalent to 300 kilos of uranium hexafluoride.