Olli Heinonen, an ex-deputy director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, stressed jumping from 60% to 90% in a week was theoretical, comparing it to the month or so needed to go from 20% to 60%. Enrichment at 20% is already a relatively short technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.
However, Heinonen told the New York Times that Iran would still need months to produce a nuclear bomb even if it did so.
Heinonen also played down the significance of the latest increase in enrichment levels.
“It’s not a huge difference. At this point, this is a demonstration,” he said. “They want to show that they can do it.”
At 60% purity, Friday’s announcement marked the highest level to which Iran has enriched uranium. In January, it began enriching to 20%, a decade after its decision to begin enriching to that level nearly brought an Israeli strike targeting its nuclear facilities — tensions that only abated with the 2015 nuclear deal. Under that accord, Tehran was prohibited from enriching uranium beyond 3.67%.
The announcement came days after an attack at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility that Iran has blamed on Israel, which damaged or destroyed thousands of centrifuges. Analysts have said the explosion that hit Natanz’s power supply is believed to have set back Iran’s ability to enrich uranium at large amounts by long months.
State TV referred to the decision to enrich to 60% as a “show of power against terrorist roguery.” Mahmoud Vaezi, the chief of staff for Iran’s president, similarly said it sent the message that Iran’s atomic program ”will not be stopped through the assassination of nuclear scientists and sabotage in nuclear facilities.” READ MORE
