Biden: US will not lift Iran sanctions until it stops enriching uranium

by

Last quarterly estimates by IAEA show Iran’s stock of enriched uranium has risen to 2.4 tons, more than 10 times the amount allowed under the JCPOA.

FEBRUARY 7, 2021 18:04
US President Joe Biden visits the State Department, Washington (photo credit: REUTERS/TOM BRENNER)
US President Joe Biden visits the State Department, Washington

US President Joe Biden announced Sunday morning that the US will not lift any of the sanctions placed on Iran unless it stops enriching uranium. Biden made the comments during an interview CBS News’ “Face the Nation”.

Biden explained that for any progress to be made, Iran must first stop its uranium enrichment. In recent weeks, Iran has escalated its violations of the 2015 nuclear deal – known as the JCPOA – and has enriched uranium to 20 percent, higher than the amount it is allowed under the deal. A nuclear bomb requires uranium enriched to over 90 percent.

 

With Iran resuming its enrichment of uranium, we asked Pres. Biden if the U.S. will lift sanctions first in order to get Iran back to the negotiating table on a nuclear deal.

“No,” Pres. Biden says, affirming that Iran will have to stop its enrichment program first pic.twitter.com/OPszf15Q1o

— Norah O’Donnell (@NorahODonnell) February 7, 2021

The last quarterly estimates by the UN nuclear watchdog in November show that Iran’s stock of enriched uranium had risen to 2.4 tons, more than 10 times the amount allowed under the deal but still a fraction of the more than eight tons it had before.

 

Since then, Iran has started enriching uranium to higher purity, returning to the 20% it achieved before the deal from a previous maximum of 4.5%. The deal sets a limit of 3.67%, far below the 90% that is weapons grade.

On Friday, The Wall Street Journal revealed that new evidence had recently been uncovered by UN inspectors indicating that Iran is engaged in undeclared nuclear activities.

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said last week it would take Iran around six months to produce enough fissile material for a single nuclear weapon.
Israel is wary of the Biden administration’s intent to reenter the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal and has long opposed the agreement. Washington argues that the previous Trump administration’s withdrawal from the deal backfired by prompting Iran to abandon caps on nuclear activities.

Content retrieved from: https://t.co/eFiOnGwfxe?amp=1.

Post Views: 46