Page 9 - IRANRptApr20

Iran’s economy has been battered by US sanctions since mid-2018 and the coronavirus economic shock and the oil price collapse sparked this week by a dispute over desired production levels between Russia and Saudi Arabia come as terrible blows at this juncture in time.
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s top diplomat, stated on his Twitter page that the Iranian central bank has requested access to IMF funds designed to help fight the coronavirus.
2.5​ ​UN watchdog says Iran has tripled uranium stockpile in breach of nuclear deal
The UN's atomic watchdog has concluded that Iran has nearly tripled its stockpile of low-enriched uranium over the past three months. If that is the case, then Tehran can be accused of a sharp violation of the 2015 nuclear deal signed with six world powers.
Some experts have said Iran is reaching a volume sufficient for the production of a nuclear weapon, but they point out that it would require several more steps—including further enrichment—to make the uranium suitable for use in a bomb. According to the Washington-based Arms Control Association, Iran would need roughly 1,050kg of low-enriched uranium—under 5% purity—and would then need to enrich it further to weapons-grade, or more than 90% purity, for a weapon.
In a March 3 report, the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that Iran’s stockpile of low-enriched uranium had expanded to 1,020.9 kilograms compared to the nuclear accord limit of 300 kilograms. In its previous report, released in November, the watchdog said the stockpile stood at 372.3 kilograms.
The IAEA also said that Iran appears to have three undeclared atomic sites. It said it was demanding “clarifications” from Tehran. It added that Tehran refused to grant access to two of three suspected nuclear sites that the UN agency wanted to visit in late January.
Iran has insisted that its nuclear programme remains strictly for civilian and energy uses and that it has never had any ambition to build a nuclear bomb.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told AFP that "Iran must decide to cooperate in a clearer manner with the agency to give the necessary clarifications.
"The fact that we found traces [of uranium] is very important. That means there is the possibility of nuclear activities and material that are not under international supervision and about which we know not the origin or the intent," Grossi said.
"That worries me," he added.
The US unilaterally abandoned the multilateral nuclear deal in 2018 even though Iran in the UN’s eyes was in full compliance with it.
Iran has said it no longer considers itself bound by the agreement and has gradually reduced some of its commitments under the deal.
It has said it would be willing to move back to full compliance with the deal if Europe provides “meaningful” economic benefits in the face of US sanctions that are designed for force Tehran into a much tougher nuclear deal.
9​ IRAN Country Report April 2020 www.intellinews.com