Iran to Increase Production of Enriched Uranium

Iran plans to increase its production of 5%-enriched uranium. Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s nuclear department, said the machines that were producing 20%-enriched uranium will be engaged in producing low-level enriched uranium, “Hence, the production of 5%-enriched uranium will increase,” the official IRNA news agency reportedThursday. (AP-Washington Post)

    See also Iran to Continue Building at Arak Nuclear Site Despite Deal

Iran will pursue construction at the Arak heavy-water reactor, Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif said Wednesday. “Capacity at the Arak site is not going to increase. It means no new nuclear fuel will be produced and no new installations will be installed, but construction will continue there,” Zarif told parliament.

    Former chief UN nuclear inspector Olli Heinonen said: “Technically, such efforts are not reasonable if the goal is either to dismantle the reactor or modify it to a more proliferation-resistant, smaller light-water reactor.” Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said: “The ink has not even dried on the agreement and already we are hearing provocative announcements from Iran, like this.”  (Reuters)

    See also U.S. Backs Iran Claim that Some Work OK at Arak Site

The U.S. says Iran can undertake some construction work at the Arak nuclear facility as long as fuel isn’t produced and advances aren’t made on a planned heavy water reactor. (AP-Washington Post)

 
Iran: We Have Emerged Victorious over the West

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, chairman of the Iranian Parliamentary Committee for Foreign Policy and National Security, told Al-Alam TV on Nov. 25: “After ten years, we have emerged victorious over the West. They wanted to prevent us from acquiring nuclear technology, but we have reached that point….Now we have emerged victorious heroes. It was in our best interest to sign this agreement.”

    “We have now entered a new stage. We expect good results. The nuclear dossier will be removed from the agenda of the UN Security Council, and…they have acknowledged Iran’s uranium enrichment. In addition, the economic siege on the Islamic Republic will be lifted.”

    “They said that they did not recognize our right to enrich uranium, but at the same time, they say that Iran agreed not to enrich above 5%. This constitutes an official acknowledgement of that percentage. They officially recognized that. We consider this to be a great victory for Iran.”  (MEMRI)

 
No Agreement on Starting Date for Iran Deal (AP-Washington Post)

    The UN will probably not begin expanded inspections under the Iranian nuclear deal until early next year, officials saidWednesday.

    Even then, they will be limited to sites the Iranians have confirmed and not those critics suspect may exist secretly.

    Officials involved in negotiating the Geneva deal say there is still no start date. They say the IAEA must verify that Iran is keeping its end of the deal before the clock starts ticking down on the agreement’s six-month time frame and the start of sanctions relief.

    IAEA head Yukiya Amano may not submit a plan on verification until January because of the upcoming holiday period.