Salehi: If There Is Will, We Can Start 20% Enrichment in Three to Four Days

On Tuesday, January 15, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization claimed that "if there is will," the Islamic Republic could begin 20% enrichment within "three to four days." This is the second time this official has spoken about Iran's return to enrichment in less than a week. Ali Akbar Salehi recently announced that the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran has, for the first time, taken "preliminary steps" to design modern 20% fuel for use in the Tehran reactor. Salehi had previously warned that if an agreement between Iran and Europe to continue the JCPOA after the U.S. withdrawal is not reached, the Islamic Republic would enrich uranium to 20%. In his latest interview with the IRIB news agency, he stated, "If there is will, we can start 20% enrichment in three to four days." He pointed to Europe's delays in fulfilling its promises regarding the JCPOA, adding that "if we want, we can immediately increase the volume and degree of our enrichment." Salehi also described the term "return to the past" as "incorrect," stating that this implies "having lost something and wanting to get it back, but we have not lost anything; rather, we have accepted some limitations." The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization attributed the statements of "Westerners" that "they have prevented our 20% enrichment for 10 to 12 years" to the need for them to have something to tell their people; otherwise, "we have enough 20% enriched uranium reserves and have maintained our potential for return." He mentioned that having a specific volume of enriched uranium and not producing uranium metal are part of Iran's "JCPOA commitments" and said, "If we want, we can lift the 300-kilogram limit. We are currently operating at a level that does not reach 3000 kilograms, but if we exit the JCPOA, we can go above this volume and use it to convert into the necessary fuel for the Arak reactor." Salehi added that Iran's commitments in the JCPOA have resulted in it enriching at "3.67%" instead of "4 or 20%" and accepted that "enrichment at 20% should be halted for a specified time." According to him, Iran currently does not "need" to enrich uranium to 20% because it has enough reserves of 20% enriched uranium for several years, and any production should be stored. He did not consider the commitment not to produce uranium metal as a "limitation" and stated that "we did not produce this metal even before the JCPOA; at the same time, this limitation is also for a specified time." The highest-ranking official of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization stated that the Islamic Republic "currently has no need" to produce uranium but has the "potential to produce uranium metal" and had produced it "at a laboratory level" 15 years ago. Salehi rejected other JCPOA limitations, including those regarding the Arak heavy water reactor, adding, "The only difference between the current situation and before the JCPOA is that we are now constructing two new nuclear power plants like the Bushehr plant, which did not exist before the JCPOA." He stated that after the JCPOA, Iran was able to "gain significant scientific capabilities by establishing scientific relations with Europe, whereas in the past they had no scientific cooperation with us." Salehi had also reported in September that, by the order of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, a "very advanced" hall for modern centrifuge manufacturing had been "equipped and launched," and Iran had signed a "large contract" with a European country for the "strengthening" of the Tehran reactor. Based on the Vienna nuclear agreement, Iran receives 20% enriched uranium for the Tehran research reactor, which has medical and agricultural uses, from Russia. Iranian officials have repeatedly criticized Europe for delaying the establishment of a special financial mechanism with Iran and warned that Tehran cannot bear the costs of Europe's behavior alone.