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The photos of the facilities are literally all over the internet. The IAEA knew about it and knew Iran was enriching weapons grade uranium. This isn't Iraq 2.

by uhhhd 1y ago

tmnvix 1y ago
Are there other uses for highly enriched uranium? Wikipedia mentions 'research' I think. Has the Iranian government ever explained why they are enriching uranium?
- wombatpm 1y ago
  Their story is a desire to build reactors for when the oil runs out. Energy security
  - dralley 1y ago
    Nobody builds reactors with 60% enriched uranium
    - wombatpm 1y ago
      That’s what their story is.
    - Qem 1y ago
      Well, if you have an expansionist apartheid state nearby, bent on seeking any pretense to sabotage or get your infrastructure air raided, higher enrichment factors would make much easier to safeguard fuel, given not high enough to easily cause a criticality incident. Say you have 10 ton of 2.5% enriched uranium to safeguard. If you turn it to 60% HEU, now you have only ~400kg of fuel to safeguard against air raids. Density of uranium is ~19 ton/m³, so that would correspond to just 21 liters of HEU, one bucket worth, what would make it very easy to transport and hide. That would make it possible to split it and store in safe locations, for example, inside some deep boreholes, far apart to each other, making it impervious to attack, for the duration of hostilities. Once they pass, it can be recovered and diluted back to 2.5% with natural uranium, reconstituting your original 10-ton fuel amount.
      - uhhhd 1y ago
        or.... they were in the process of building bombs. (or what you said, but probably bombs).
  - jiggawatts 1y ago
    You only need 5% enriched for that.
sodality2 1y ago
Flies in the face of the US intelligence community’s report at the end of March [0], but, I am not floored if true. Do you have any sources? Edit: If you mean "Verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of United Nations Security Council resolution 2231 (2015)" [1], that report explicitly mentions up to 60% which is not weapons grade. [0]: https://www.newsweek.com/tulsi-gabbard-iran-nuclear-weapon-2051523 https://www.newsweek.com/tulsi-gabbard-iran-nuclear-weapon-2... [1]: https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/25/06/gov2025-24.pdf https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/25/06/gov2025-24.pd...
- frontfor 1y ago
  60% enrichment level is significantly higher than what’s required for peaceful purposes. To say that it’s not weapons grade is just disingenuous.
  - sorcerer-mar 1y ago
    Except that it is literally not weapons grade. It turns out there's a big gap between most peaceful purposes and weapons grade, and this was in that gap.
    - fallingknife 1y ago
      When the only purpose of stepping into that gap is to get to weapons grade, it doesn't really work as a gray area.
      - sorcerer-mar 1y ago
        [flagged]
        Retric 1y ago
        The only reason to make 60% is to make a weapon, and it’s actually useful in a weapon. Saying it’s not weapons grade only means you haven’t finished or intend to use something else for the initial stage.
dj_gitmo 1y ago
> Iran was enriching weapons grade uranium Do you have a citation for this?
- flyinglizard 1y ago
  IAEA was claiming 60% enrichment. Enough weapons grade material for nine warheads: https://isis-online.org/uploads/isis-reports/documents/Analysis_of_May_2025_IAEA_Iran_Verification_Report_FINAL.pdf https://isis-online.org/uploads/isis-reports/documents/Analy...
  - dragontamer 1y ago
    Weapons grade Uranium is over 90% purity. 60% is just a stepping stone towards 90%.
    - busterarm 1y ago
      You only get to 60% on the road to 90%. At 60% it has no other useful purpose.
    - lamontcg 1y ago
      That's like saying driving from NYC to Sacramento is just a "Stepping Stone" to driving to SF. You've done most of the drive. To get 1kg of U-235 requires 1.11kg at 90% purity, 1.67kg at 60% purity, and 140.6kg at natural 0.711% purity.
      - Teever 1y ago
        Sure, but if this is being talked about like there's a legal justification to take military action then there actually has to be legal justification. Was what Iran doing illegal?
        firesteelrain 1y ago
        It was a pre-emptive strike based on the behaviors of a state sponsor of terrorism. It’s not like the US and its allies have not tried to stop this before - see StuxNet

The photos of the facilities are literally all over the internet. The IAEA knew about it and knew Iran was enriching weapons grade uranium. This isn't Iraq 2.

by uhhhd 1y ago

The photos of the facilities are literally all over the internet. The IAEA knew about it and knew Iran was enriching weapons grade uranium. This isn't Iraq 2.

tmnvix 1y ago

Are there other uses for highly enriched uranium? Wikipedia mentions 'research' I think. Has the Iranian government ever explained why they are enriching uranium?

wombatpm 1y ago
Their story is a desire to build reactors for when the oil runs out. Energy security
- dralley 1y ago
  Nobody builds reactors with 60% enriched uranium
  - wombatpm 1y ago
    That’s what their story is.
  - Qem 1y ago
    Well, if you have an expansionist apartheid state nearby, bent on seeking any pretense to sabotage or get your infrastructure air raided, higher enrichment factors would make much easier to safeguard fuel, given not high enough to easily cause a criticality incident. Say you have 10 ton of 2.5% enriched uranium to safeguard. If you turn it to 60% HEU, now you have only ~400kg of fuel to safeguard against air raids. Density of uranium is ~19 ton/m³, so that would correspond to just 21 liters of HEU, one bucket worth, what would make it very easy to transport and hide. That would make it possible to split it and store in safe locations, for example, inside some deep boreholes, far apart to each other, making it impervious to attack, for the duration of hostilities. Once they pass, it can be recovered and diluted back to 2.5% with natural uranium, reconstituting your original 10-ton fuel amount.
    - uhhhd 1y ago
      or.... they were in the process of building bombs. (or what you said, but probably bombs).
- jiggawatts 1y ago
  You only need 5% enriched for that.

sodality2 1y ago

Flies in the face of the US intelligence community’s report at the end of March [0], but, I am not floored if true. Do you have any sources? Edit: If you mean "Verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of United Nations Security Council resolution 2231 (2015)" [1], that report explicitly mentions up to 60% which is not weapons grade. [0]: https://www.newsweek.com/tulsi-gabbard-iran-nuclear-weapon-2051523 https://www.newsweek.com/tulsi-gabbard-iran-nuclear-weapon-2... [1]: https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/25/06/gov2025-24.pdf https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/25/06/gov2025-24.pd...

frontfor 1y ago
60% enrichment level is significantly higher than what’s required for peaceful purposes. To say that it’s not weapons grade is just disingenuous.
- sorcerer-mar 1y ago
  Except that it is literally not weapons grade. It turns out there's a big gap between most peaceful purposes and weapons grade, and this was in that gap.
  - fallingknife 1y ago
    When the only purpose of stepping into that gap is to get to weapons grade, it doesn't really work as a gray area.
    - sorcerer-mar 1y ago
      [flagged]
      - Retric 1y ago
        The only reason to make 60% is to make a weapon, and it’s actually useful in a weapon. Saying it’s not weapons grade only means you haven’t finished or intend to use something else for the initial stage.

dj_gitmo 1y ago

> Iran was enriching weapons grade uranium Do you have a citation for this?

flyinglizard 1y ago
IAEA was claiming 60% enrichment. Enough weapons grade material for nine warheads: https://isis-online.org/uploads/isis-reports/documents/Analysis_of_May_2025_IAEA_Iran_Verification_Report_FINAL.pdf https://isis-online.org/uploads/isis-reports/documents/Analy...
- dragontamer 1y ago
  Weapons grade Uranium is over 90% purity. 60% is just a stepping stone towards 90%.
  - busterarm 1y ago
    You only get to 60% on the road to 90%. At 60% it has no other useful purpose.
  - lamontcg 1y ago
    That's like saying driving from NYC to Sacramento is just a "Stepping Stone" to driving to SF. You've done most of the drive. To get 1kg of U-235 requires 1.11kg at 90% purity, 1.67kg at 60% purity, and 140.6kg at natural 0.711% purity.
    - Teever 1y ago
      Sure, but if this is being talked about like there's a legal justification to take military action then there actually has to be legal justification. Was what Iran doing illegal?
      - firesteelrain 1y ago
        It was a pre-emptive strike based on the behaviors of a state sponsor of terrorism. It’s not like the US and its allies have not tried to stop this before - see StuxNet