IDF claims Iran has almost three times the enriched uranium it had last summer

An Israel Defence Forces intelligence assessment has revealed that Iran now has 850 kg of uranium enriched to four percent, almost three times what it had last summer.

The summary, published on Tuesday, said Iran only had 300 kg of enriched uranium last July, and that it could now enrich its stockpile to 20 percent by the autumn if the regime chose to go down that path.

Iran would need 40 kg of uranium enriched to 90 percent for a nuclear bomb, and the IDF raised the prospect of the Islamic Republic meeting that landmark by the end of the year, although most analysts think it would take much longer.

The IDF added that Iran was actually two years off making a deliverable nuclear weapon, given that its scientists still needed to make advances in missile capability.

In 2015 Iran agreed a nuclear deal with the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia and China, which removed sanctions in return for Iran’s dismantling of its nuclear infrastructure.

However Donald Trump withdrew the US from the deal in 2018 and immediately re-imposed sanctions, before assassinating a senior Iranian general earlier this month, leaving Tehran in no mood to continue with its compliance obligations.