Iran warns it could enrich uranium to weapons-grade if attacked again
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Iran has warned that it could enrich uranium to 90 per cent purity, considered weapons grade, if it faces another attack from the United States or Israel.
Iranian Parliamentary Commission spokesperson Ebrahim Rezaei said on X that one of Tehran’s options in the event of another attack could be 90 per cent uranium enrichment and that the matter would be reviewed in parliament.
The warning comes as reports suggest US President Donald Trump is considering fresh military action against Iran while negotiations between Washington and Tehran remain stalled.
Trump has repeatedly said the US would not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons and described Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile as a major concern. He recently said Washington was closely monitoring the stockpile and warned that the US would respond if anyone approached the sites.
According to reports, Iran’s latest counterproposal in talks with the US included diluting part of its highly enriched uranium stockpile and temporarily transferring the rest to a third country.
Iran began industrial-scale uranium enrichment in 2006, insisting its nuclear programme was for peaceful purposes. In 2010, Tehran announced enrichment up to 20 per cent purity for research reactor fuel. Uranium enriched beyond that level can more easily be increased to weapons-grade purity.
The International Atomic Energy Agency believes Iran currently holds 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent purity, which is technically close to the 90 per cent level generally associated with nuclear weapons.
Former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had said in 2021 that Iran could enrich uranium up to 90 per cent if needed for its reactors.
The fate of Iran’s current uranium stockpile remains unclear. The IAEA believes much of it is likely still stored at the Isfahan nuclear complex, which has faced repeated airstrikes in recent conflicts.
