Iran is slowing production of enriched uranium, a UN official says

In another indication that Iran may want to de-escalate its confrontation with the United States, United Nations nuclear inspectors are seeing some signs that Tehran is lifting its foot, if only slightly, on accelerating its nuclear program.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in an interview that Iran is still expanding its supply of uranium enriched at 60 percent purity – just below what it would need to produce nuclear weapons . But the production surge that began just after Israeli military action in Gaza in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack appears to have subsided, he said.

“There is some delay,” Mr Grossi said, adding: “They are still being added to the stock, but more slowly.”

Mr. Grossi has been engaged in a years-long feud with Iran over the country's restrictions on inspectors, as well as the dismantling of cameras and other sensors at key locations in the country's now vast — and dispersed — nuclear fuel production program .

It is difficult to infer Iran's intentions from its production of enriched uranium, but over the years the pace has been more closely tied to the level of tension in Iran's relations with the United States and Israel than to technical necessity of production.

After a drone strike linked to an Iran-linked group killed three US service members in Jordan in recent days, Tehran has repeatedly indicated it does not want a direct confrontation with the United States.

The Iran-backed militia believed responsible for the drone attack, Kata'ib Hezbollah, or Brigades of the Party of God, said on Tuesday it was giving in to pressure from Iran and Iraq to stop attacking US troops. The militia is the largest and most established of the Iran-affiliated groups operating in Iraq.

It is not clear exactly when the slowdown in uranium production began, but it appears that Iran has become concerned that its nuclear enrichment program could become a major military target. Israel has regularly conducted exercises to simulate bombings, and the United States has been engaged in actions to sabotage the program for more than fifteen years.

Iran has denied that its goal is to produce a nuclear weapon, and so far intelligence officials have said there is no evidence the country is rushing to produce one.

Iranian authorities appear to have carefully tailored their enrichment activities to stay just below the threshold of bomb material, which is commonly defined as uranium enriched to a purity of 90 percent. (It is possible to build a weapon using fuel enriched below that level.) Last November, the IAEA reported that the country had 128 kilograms of 60 percent enriched uranium.

Starting in June, it dramatically cut its production, which seemed to send a silent signal to the United States. But growth rose in December, only to slow again recently.

None of these variations affect the bigger picture: Iran now has more near-bomb-worthy uranium than it has had in years, after a 2015 nuclear deal forced the country to give up 97 percent of its stockpile. President Trump withdrew from that agreement in 2018, prompting the current buildup. In addition, Iran has begun building underground facilities that are more difficult to bomb.