Iran May Dilute Uranium Stockpile if US Lifts Sanctions, Atomic Chief Says

Iran may agree to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to 60% if the US lifts all sanction on the country, Tehran’s atomic chief Mohammad Eslami said on Monday. “In conclusion, in response to a question about the possibility of diluting 60% enriched uranium… the head of the Atomic Energy Organization said that this depends on whether all sanctions would be lifted in return," the official IRNA news agency reported. Diluting uranium means mixing it with blend material to reduce the enrichment level. According to AFP, before US and Israeli strikes on its nuclear facilities in June last year, Iran had been enriching uranium to 60%, far exceeding the 3.67% limit allowed under a now-defunct nuclear agreement reached with world powers in 2015. Western countries, led by the US, have alleged Tehran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a claim denied by Iran. According to the UN’s nuclear watchdog, Iran is the only non-nuclear-weapons state enriching uranium to 60%. Also Read: Iran Signals Readiness To Suspend Nuclear Programme Ahead Of Istanbul Talks With US: Report It is also unknown where more than 400 kg of highly enriched uranium that Iran possessed prior to the war has ended up, with UN inspectors last recording its location on June 10, AFP reported. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly pushed for total ban on enrichment for Iran. Iran is offering significant concessions in an effort to calm tensions in the Middle East. Tehran has informed the United States that it is ready to suspend its nuclear programme. However, it has said it would prefer a proposal made last year to create a regional consortium to produce nuclear power. Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, recently met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow with a message from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran signalled it could ship its enriched uranium stockpile to Russia, similar to what was done under the 2015 nuclear deal. Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to the Supreme Leader, said Iran would not remove its stored nuclear materials but was open to reducing enrichment from 60 per cent to 20 per cent, if it received something in return.