Iran’s nukesWorry: Iran Said It Will Continue to Enrich Uranium Beyond Radioactive Isotopes Level

Published 5 December 2019

Tehran sent a letter to the UN Thursday saying that it was “determined to resolutely continue” enriching uranium. This came following an EU letter criticizing the Iranian government’s decision, and a Russian firm suspending cooperation in Iran’s uranium enrichment program at the underground Fordo facility.

Tehran sent a letter to the UN Thursday saying that it was “determined to resolutely continue” enriching uranium. This came following an EU letter criticizing the Iranian government’s decision, and a Russian firm suspending cooperation in Iran’s uranium enrichment program.

Iran is determined to resolutely continue its activities related to ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles,” Iranian UN envoy Majid Takhte Ravanchi wrote in a letter to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The Times of Israel reports that earlier, Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif had dismissed a letter from the UK, Germany, and France taking Tehran to task for not adhering to a 2015 landmark deal meant to curb Iranian nuclear ambitions. The letter called on Guterres to inform the Security Council in his next report that Iran’s missile program is “inconsistent” with the implementation of the deal.

In a tweet, Zarif called it a “desperate falsehood to cover up their miserable incompetence in fulfilling the bare minimum of their own…obligations.”

Iran has criticized the EU for not fully implementing a barter mechanism the bloc said would shield Iran from some of the effects of re-imposed U.S. sanctions.

The growing acrimony between Iran and the world powers over Iran’s enrichment plans comes against the backdrop of days of widespread protests against the regime, protests which, Iran claims, were promoted by the United States. The demonstrations, which began over a steep increase in fuel prices, had already cost the lives of hundreds of Iranian civilians, although the exact figures are unclear. The United States said on Thursday that it believes at least 1,000 people lost their lives. Amnesty International, however, has estimated a death toll of 208.

Iran’s uranium enrichment program has suffered a serious blow when, on Thursday, Moscow’s state-controlled nuclear fuel company, TVEL, has said it will suspend a joint research project with Iran because of the latter’s move to resume uranium enrichment.

TVEL said in a statement that Iran’s decision to resume uranium enrichment at its underground Fordo facility – which was closed under the term of the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, but which Iran has since reopened after the United States withdrew from the deal — makes it impossible to convert the facility to produce radioactive isotopes for medical purposes.