Iran Starts Enriching Uranium at 60%, its Highest Level Ever
Iran began enriching uranium up to 60% purity Friday, its highest level ever, after an attack targeted its Natanz nuclear site, the country's parliament speaker said.
The comment by Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, quoted by state television, did not elaborate on the amount Iran planned to enrich. However, it is likely to raise tensions even as Iran negotiates with world powers in Vienna over a way to allow the U.S. back into the agreement and lift the crushing economic sanctions it faces.
The announcement also marks a significant escalation after the sabotage that damaged centrifuges, an attack this past weekend suspected of having been carried out by Israel. While Israel has yet to claim it, the country is widely suspected of having carried out the still-unexplained sabotage at Natanz, Iran's main enrichment site.
"The will of the Iranian nation is a miracle-maker and it will defuse any conspiracy," state television quoted Qalibaf as saying. He said the enrichment began just after midnight Friday.
The move could inspire a further response from Israel amid a long-running shadow war between the nations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed never to allow Tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon and his country has twice preemptively bombed Mideast nations to stop their atomic programs.
16 April 2021, 18:44
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Another North Korea spreading misery and isolation to its people and every nation it uses as a base for its rockets. Yemen a perfect example... people dying from hunger but Yemeni basij have ballistic missiles and guided rocket planes. Lebanon and Syria next. In fact Iran uses people hunger for easy indoctrination. They already killed or exiled all intellectuals and productive sector of the Iranian community when they brutally suppressed the Green Revolution in 2010. Now only criminal Basij are running Iran.
