Israel Matzav: Iran enriches five kilos of uranium

Iran enriches five kilos of uranium

Iranian nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said Wednesday that his country has enriched five kilos of uranium to the 20% level. While this might not seem significant, the technological battle in enriching uranium is in getting from the (low) 3.5% level to the 20% level. The technology for getting from 20% to 90% (bomb level) is not difficult. In February, Iran announced that it had enriched a few grams of uranium to the 20% level. This is from the first link above:

Salehi's announcement was a sign Iran was determined to move ahead in the program.

He said so far 11 pounds (5 kilograms) of 20 percent enriched uranium has been produced. He said just over 3 pounds (1.5 kilograms) a month was needed to run the research reactor in Tehran.

On Feb. 11, days after the further enriching began, Iran announced that it had succeeded in producing a few ounces (grams) of the material.

However, Iran must first process the material into fuel rods, and it is not clear if it yet has the know-how to do so. The research reactor produces medical isotopes, including material for treating cancer and other diseases that the government says will go to treating some 850,000 people.

You only need to process it into fuel rods if you're going to run a medical reactor with it. You don't need to do that to make bombs. And with the new centrifuges Iran unveiled last Friday, they can enrich uranium six times faster.

What could go wrong?

Israel Matzav: Iran enriches five kilos of uranium