Mole: The U.S. is unaware of the exact location of uranium removed from Iran

The senior U.S. coordinator for the JCPOA stated on Thursday, February 10, that the United States is unaware of the exact location of several tons of low-enriched uranium that has been removed from Iran as part of the Vienna nuclear agreement. According to the Associated Press, Stephen Mull, who was responding to questions from members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the safeguarding of these reserves is a matter related to Russia. Critics of the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, reached on July 14 of this year in Vienna, consider the issue of the transfer of Iran's uranium to be one of the drawbacks of this deal. Chris Smith, a Republican representative from New Jersey, stated that it is 'disturbing and unbelievable' that Russia has been trusted to store such sensitive materials. Moscow is a close ally of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He also mentioned that he is unaware if there is a clause in the Vienna agreement requesting Russia to disclose the location of the storage of Iran's enriched uranium and how it will be safeguarded. Low-enriched uranium is suitable for producing fuel for nuclear power plants, but further enrichment is required for use in nuclear weapons. The senior U.S. coordinator for the JCPOA assured on Thursday that the mentioned reserves are adequately controlled. Mr. Mull stated, 'We are not concerned about how these materials are being kept in Russia. The important thing is that these materials will not be returned to Iran.' According to him, there are sufficient monitoring measures in place to detect 'even the return of a single particle of these materials.' Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, announced on December 29 that Iran had exported more than 11 tons of enriched uranium to Russia in the previous days and received 197 tons of yellowcake in return. The Russian Foreign Ministry also confirmed the exchange of Iran's uranium for yellowcake from Russia and Kazakhstan a day before Salehi's statements. Hamid Baidi-Nejad, director-general of political affairs at Iran's Foreign Ministry, described the process of transferring Iran's uranium to Russia as 'a very complex operation,' stating that it was completed with the help and coordination of Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Norway. The transfer of Iran's uranium reserves is part of the 'Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action' or JCPOA aimed at resolving the Islamic Republic's nuclear program and reducing the likelihood of Tehran building a nuclear weapon using these materials. Under the JCPOA, Iran's low-enriched uranium stockpile should not exceed 300 kilograms. John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, stated on December 28 that with the transfer of Iran's enriched uranium to Russia, Tehran's 'breakout time' in its nuclear program would increase from two to three months to six to nine months. Republicans, who have been unable to prevent the implementation of the JCPOA in recent months, have taken steps to scrutinize this agreement to ensure that Tehran is held accountable for any violations of the JCPOA and will be punished for any hostile behavior, from missile testing to human rights violations.