A US official has reacted angrily to Iran’s decision to resume 20 percent uranium enrichment, calling it a “nuclear ransom.”
A State Department spokesman told Reuters in a statement Monday evening: “Iran’s move to enrich uranium to 20 percent at Fordow is a clear attempt to intensify its nuclear ransom campaign. This effort will continue to fail.
The official, who asked not to be named, said: “The United States and the international community will continue to keep an eye on IAEA inspectors to report on the facts on the ground.”
A State Department spokesman said: “We are confident that the IAEA will monitor and report on the activities of Iran’s new nuclear power plant.”
The remarks of the anonymous American official were published hours after “Ali Rabiee”, the spokesman of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, announced the beginning of the process of producing uranium with 20% enrichment.
Rabiee said in a press conference: “The gas injection process started a few hours ago and the first UF6 enriched uranium product will be available in a few hours.”
In addition to informing about the start of the 20% enrichment process, Rabiee had previously emphasized that Iran’s enrichment activities had been reported to the IAEA.
Creating an atmosphere over Iran’s nuclear program
Western countries, led by the United States and the Zionist regime, have accused Iran in recent years of pursuing military goals in its nuclear program. Iran has strongly denied these allegations.
Iran emphasizes that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has the right to acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
In addition, in 2015, Iran reached an agreement with the so-called P5 + 1 countries to resolve tensions over its nuclear program.