Iran Labels 84-Percent Uranium Enrichment Allegation ‘Conspiracy’

The spokesman for the Iranian atomic energy organization has denied that the country has enriched uranium to 84-percent purity, calling it part of a “conspiracy” against the Islamic Republic.

In an interview with state-run Press TV on February 24, Behrouz Kamalvandi sought to portray any detection of uranium particles enriched to 84 percent as a momentary side effect of trying to reach a finished product of 60-percent purity, which Tehran already has announced producing.

Uranium enriched at 84 percent is at nearly weapons-grade levels of 90 percent, meaning that any stockpile of that material could be used to produce an atomic bomb if Iran chooses.

Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, though the UN’s atomic agency, Western intelligence agencies and nonproliferation experts say Iran pursued a secret nuclear weapons program up until 2003.

Bloomberg News reported on February 19 that inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) detected uranium particles enriched up to 84 percent, threatening to further escalate tensions between Tehran and the West.

The IAEA did not deny the report and said it was “discussing with Iran the results of recent agency verification activities.”

In his interview, Kamalvandi described Iran’s uranium centrifuge cascades as producing particles at varying purity that later form a final product of 60 percent.

“It doesn’t matter because the end product is what matters,” he said. “If we really want to enrich 20 percent more, we will announce it very easily. So it is clear that there is a conspiracy here.”

IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi has warned that Iran now has enough uranium to produce “several” nuclear bombs if it chooses, but it likely would take months more to build a weapon and potentially miniaturize it to put on a missile.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened military actions against Tehran.

Under a landmark 2015 nuclear agreement, the Islamic Republic agreed to restrain its atomic program in return for relief from economic sanctions.

But former US President Donald Trump in 2018 abandoned the accord and started re-imposed crippling sanctions on Iran. Tehran has since been rolling back its commitments in violation of the deal.

Western officials have expressed doubt about the chances of success of the long-stalled negotiations to revive the pact.