90% uranium enrichment possible if attacks renewed: Iran warns US
What's the story
Iran may consider enriching uranium to 90% purity if it is attacked again, a senior lawmaker said on Tuesday. Ebrahim Rezaei, the spokesperson of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, made this statement after US President Donald Trump warned that the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran is "on massive life support." "We will review it in the parliament," Rezaei wrote. To build nuclear weapons, uranium needs to be enriched to 90%.
Nuclear stance
Iran's nuclear technology 'non-negotiable': AEOI chief
The nuclear issue has been a major bone of contention in talks between the US and Iran to end the conflict, which started in late February. Tehran wants to discuss nuclear issues later, but Washington is demanding that Iran move its highly enriched uranium stockpile abroad and stop domestic enrichment. On Monday, Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said that Iran's nuclear technology and uranium enrichment are "non-negotiable."
Stalled negotiations
US-Iran peace talks remain deadlocked
The United States and Israel reached a ceasefire on April 8 after 40 days of fighting. After the ceasefire, Iranian and US delegations held peace talks in Islamabad on April 11-12, but no agreement was reached. In the weeks since, both sides have exchanged proposed plans for ending the conflict through Pakistan. Iran's latest response to a US proposal was sent on Sunday, but Trump dismissed it as "totally unacceptable."
Nukes
Fate of 400kg of uranium enriched to 60% remains unknown
Last June, Trump had claimed that US and Israeli strikes "obliterated" Iran's nuclear facilities, severely limiting their ability to enrich uranium. However, the fate of approximately 400kg of uranium enriched to 60% remains unknown. According to US intelligence, Tehran's nuclear program would not be significantly impacted unless its highly enriched uranium (HEU) stockpile is removed or destroyed.