Iran offers to cap sensitive uranium stock as IAEA resolution looms

VIENNA: Iran has tried in vain to prevent a Western push for a resolution against it at the United NAtiosn (UN) nuclear watchdog’s (IAEA) board meeting by offering to cap its stock of uranium just shy of weapons grade, the watchdog and diplomats said on Tuesday.

One of two confidential International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports to member states, both seen by Reuters, said Iran had offered not to expand its stock of uranium enriched to up to 60 per cent purity, near the roughly 90 per cent of weapons grade, and had made preparations to do that.

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The offer is conditional, however, on Western powers abandoning their push for a resolution against Iran at this week’s quarterly meeting of the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors over its lack of cooperation with the IAEA, diplomats said, adding that the push was continuing regardless.

During IAEA chief Rafael Grossi’s trip to Iran last week, “the possibility of Iran not further expanding its stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent U-235 was discussed,” read one of the two quarterly IAEA reports.

It added that the IAEA had verified that Iran had “begun implementation of preparatory measures”. A senior diplomat added that the pace of enrichment to that level had slowed, a step that is necessary before stopping.

Western diplomats dismissed Iran’s overture as yet another last-minute attempt to avoid censure at a board meeting, much like a vague pledge of deeper cooperation with the IAEA in March of last year that was never fully implemented.

“Stopping enriching to 60 per cent great, they shouldn’t be doing that in the first place as we all know there’s no credible civilian use for the 60 per cent,” one Western diplomat said, adding: “It’s something they could switch back on again easily”.

Iran’s offer was to cap the stock of uranium enriched to up to 60 per cent at around 185 kg, or the amount it had two days ago, a senior diplomat said. That is enough in principle, if enriched further, for four nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons.

The report said Iran’s stock of uranium enriched to up to 60 per cent had grown by 17.6 kg in the past quarter to 182.3 kg as of October 26, also enough for four weapons by that measure.

The second report said Iran had also agreed to consider allowing four more “experienced inspectors” to work in Iran after it barred most of the IAEA’s inspectors who are experts in enrichment last year in what the IAEA called a “very serious blow” to its ability to do its job properly in Iran.

Diplomats said they could not be the same inspectors that were barred.

The reports were delayed by Grossi’s trip, during which he hoped to persuade Iran’s new President Masoud Pezeshkian to end a standoff with the IAEA over long-running issues like unexplained uranium traces at undeclared sites and extending IAEA oversight to more areas.

The draft resolution backed by Britain, France, Germany and the United States condemning Iran for its poor cooperation with the IAEA would also task the IAEA with issuing a “comprehensive report” on Iran’s nuclear activities, diplomats said.

There is little doubt the board will pass the resolution, due to be formally submitted on Tuesday evening for a vote later this week. The last resolution against Iran was in June. Only Russia and China opposed it.

The aim is to pressure Iran to return to the negotiating table to agree fresh restrictions on its nuclear activities since a 2015 deal with far-ranging curbs fell apart. Although most of its terms have been broken, the deal’s “termination day” formally lifting them is in October of next year.

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It is the last quarterly board meeting before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January. 20.

Trump pulled the United States out of the nuclear deal in 2018, which prompted its unravelling. It is far from clear if he would back talks with Iran, having pledged instead to again take a more confrontational approach and align Washington even more closely with Iran’s arch-foe Israel, which opposed the deal.