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Iran resumes enriching uranium to 20% purity at Fordo facility

04 January 2021 23:27 (UTC +04:00)

Iran has resumed enriching uranium to 20% purity, in its most significant breach yet of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, APA reports citing BBC.

The global nuclear watchdog confirmed that the process had begun at the underground Fordo plant on Monday.

Enriched uranium can be used to make reactor fuel but also nuclear bombs. Weapons-grade uranium is 90% purity.

Iran, which insists that its nuclear programme is peaceful, has rolled back a number of commitments under the deal.

It has said it is retaliating for the US economic sanctions that were reinstated in 2018 by President Donald Trump when he abandoned the accord, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).