VIENNA - Iran is still defying the UN Security Council and has so far amassed 1,359 kilogrammes of low-enriched uranium hexafluoride (UF6), the UN atomic watchdog said Friday. Estimates vary, but analysts calculate that anywhere between 1,000-1,700 kilogrammes of low-enriched uranium would be needed to convert it into highly-enriched uranium suitable to make a single atomic bomb.“Iran has estimated, that between November 18, 2008 and May 31, 2009 ... a total 500 kilogrammes of low-enriched UF6 was produced” at its enrichment plant in Natanz, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a restricted report, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.
Prior to that, Iran had already amassed 839 kilos of low-enriched UF6. Commenting on this increase, a senior official close to the IAEA said that “most of it can be attributed to the number of additional [centrifuge] machines.”
In his latest report issued to IAEA member states, Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said that as of May 31, Iran had 4,920 uranium enrichment centrifuges running, up from 3,936 such machines operating in February. An additional 2,301 centrifuges have been installed but are not yet in operation.