Iran plans major jump in uranium enrichment after Natanz nuclear site attack - The Washington Post

ISTANBUL — Iran will begin enriching uranium to 60 percent purity, a top official said Tuesday, far exceeding its current level, in a defiant move following an attack on one of its key nuclear sites, Iranian news agencies reported.

Iran’s state-run Press TV quoted Iran’s lead nuclear negotiator, Abbas Araghchi, as saying the country informed the International Atomic Energy Agency of plans to start 60 percent uranium enrichment.

The move adds another major hurdle to negotiations to revive a 2015 nuclear deal negotiated between Iran and six world powers.

Iran began breaching the accord after President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018, reimposed the sanctions on Tehran that were lifted under the agreement, and added more than 1,500 additional measures in what his administration called a “maximum pressure” campaign to cripple the Iranian economy.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday called Iran’s vow to increase enrichment “provocative” and said it “calls into question Iran’s seriousness with regard to the nuclear talks.”.

Iran’s announcement follows an attack on its main enrichment facility at Natanz on Sunday, in what appeared to be an escalation of a shadow war between Israel and Iran over the past several years.

Iranian officials blamed Israel for the attack, which they said caused a blackout and damaged centrifuges.

prepares for further talks with Iran as Tehran blames Israel for attack on nuclear facility.

Now the events of recent days have added fears of a spiraling and incendiary conflict between Iran and Israel, which is opposed to the 2015 nuclear deal.

The nuclear deal allows Iran to enrich uranium only up to a 3.67 percent concentration of uranium-235, a fissile isotope, at Natanz, and to maintain a small stockpile of enriched uranium to use as fuel for its nuclear power reactors.

intelligence report had cited enrichment above 60 percent as a step Iran might take in developing nuclear weapons if it did not receive sanctions relief.

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