Iran Says It Has Reduced Its 20 Percent-Enriched Uranium Stockpile By Producing Reactor Fuel
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran significantly reduced its stock of 20 percent-enriched uranium by converting it to reactor fuel, a senior official said, an announcement that appears to be a bid to ease international concerns over its nuclear program.
The West remains concerned over Iran's continuing production of 20 percent uranium, which is enriched to a higher level than that used to fuel most energy reactors and is closer to the 90 percent needed for a warhead. The U.S. and its allies demand Iran halt all enrichment, which Tehran rejects.
The late Thursday announcement, from the government of moderate President Hasan Rouhani, appeared to be a signal to ease Western worries. Speaking to state television, Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said the country's stocks of 20 percent-enriched uranium has fallen from 240 kilograms to around 140 kilograms as it is converted into fuel for a medical research reactor. Salehi said the remainder is also being converted.
"We have converted a remarkable part to fuel rod," Salehi said. "The amount of 20 percent-enriched uranium is small."
An August report by the United Nations' nuclear watchdog put Iran's stockpile 20 percent enriched uranium at 185.5 kilograms. Some 250 kilograms of the 20 percent enriched uranium is enough for a bomb - if it is refined more than 90 percent.
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