IAEA says Iran increased stockpiles of nuclear materials

CAIRO – 1 June 2019: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said Iran’s stockpiles of low-enriched uranium and heavy water have increased since the start of the year.

The UN atomic watchdog said in a statement that it is the first since Tehran announced it had increased low-enriched uranium production.

While the report said Iran is still within the limitations set by the nuclear deal reached in 2015 with major powers, it detailed significant increases in key nuclear materials.

As of May 26, Iran had 125.2 metric tons of heavy water, an increase of 0.4 tons on February but still under the 130-tonne limit.

As of May 20, Iran had 174.1 kg of enriched uranium, up from 163.8kg in February but within the relevant of limit 300kg.

The report does say that "technical discussions... are ongoing" with Iran in relation to its installation of up to 33 advanced IR-6 centrifuges, but does not specify the content of these discussions.

Earlier this month Iran announced it was suspending some of its commitments under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and gave the remaining signatories 60 days to come up with new economic incentives to compensate for the unilateral withdrawal of the United States last year.