Uranium Enrichment Raises Concerns Over Potential Nuclear Bomb Development in Iran

US President Donald Trump has announced plans for a new nuclear deal with Iran, claiming it will be “far better” than the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The agreement is set to take place in Islamabad, Pakistan. As part of the US demands, Iran is expected to stop all enrichment of uranium.

Iran’s nuclear program has been focused on civilian use, such as power generation, which requires uranium enrichment between 3 percent and 5 percent. To build a nuclear weapon, uranium needs to be enriched to 90 percent.

The process of enriching uranium involves several steps. Uranium is naturally radioactive and can be extracted from rocks, soil, or seawater through digging or chemical processing. It is then processed into different forms, including natural uranium isotopes U-238, U-235, and U-234. The lighter and more radioactive U-235 is separated from the heavier U-238 in a process called uranium enrichment.

Uranium enrichment involves converting the uranium into a gas, uranium hexafluoride (UF₆), which is then fed into centrifuges that spin at high speeds to separate the isotopes. A single centrifuge provides only a small amount of separation, and multiple centrifuges are needed to achieve higher concentrations. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) defines low-enriched uranium as below 20 percent and highly-enriched uranium as above 20 percent.

Iran is believed to have approximately 440kg of uranium enriched to 60 percent, which could theoretically be used to build 10 or 11 low-technology atomic bombs if refined to 90 percent. The effort required to enrich uranium is measured in separative work units (SWU), and the process is not linear, making it more difficult to achieve higher enrichment levels.

The details of the new nuclear deal with Iran are still being negotiated, but US President Trump has expressed confidence that the agreement will be “far better” than the JCPOA.

Source: Al Jazeera