Iran to build yellowcake plant amid concerns over its atomic plans
Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization announced plans to construct a yellowcake production facility capable of producing 20 tons annually.
Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization announced plans to construct a yellowcake production facility capable of producing 20 tons annually.
The announcement follows the commencement of radioactive materials extraction at a complex in Yazd province.
“Today, the extraction and operation of radioactive materials and accompanying elements in the Anomaly 10 area began,” said Javad Ahmadi, the deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization.
“Last September, we carried out the exploration of this area, and now we have reached the stage of extracting radioactive materials and accompanying elements from this mine.”
Yellowcake, a processed uranium ore, is a key material for nuclear power plants, which Iran claims is its focus, though concerns remain over its potential use in atomic weapons. The West has expressed fears that Iran’s ultimate aim may involve weapons-grade enrichment.
Ahmadi also mentioned the project’s scope, saying that it involves approximately 40 million tons of radioactive materials, iron ore, and other elements.
“We have also planned to establish a yellowcake production plant with an annual capacity of 20 tons.”
Last year, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog said that Iran is "weeks not months" away from a nuclear weapon.
In spite of a November resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors censuring Iran for its lack of cooperation, Iran has continued to forge ahead with its enrichment towards weapons level uranium.
The deputy head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Behrouz Kamalvandi, said at the time: "We will significantly increase enrichment capacity ... The Westerners are trying to push our nuclear industry backward through pressure tactics."
The latest developments come as President Donald Trump looks to bring Iran back to the negotiating table. During his first term, the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear accord, a deal that restricted Iran’s uranium enrichment to 3.67 percent—well below the 90 percent required for weapons—while capping its stockpile at 300 kilograms.
Further expanding its nuclear initiatives, Iran on Saturday launched production of Iridium Hexafluoride (IR46) at the Shahid Raeisi Nuclear Site in Isfahan. State media claims the material has medical and industrial uses and opens new export opportunities for Iran.
While President Donald Trump’s new administration has indicated openness to renegotiations, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has dismissed the prospect, calling dialogue with the US dishonorable.
Trump has clearly announced that the Islamic Republic must not have nuclear weapons while countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany and France (the E3) continue to push for measures to prevent Iran's nuclear progress.
Iran insists its nuclear program is strictly for peaceful purposes, though its growing capabilities are likely to draw increased international scrutiny.
Gholamreza Nouri Qeziljeh, Iran’s Minister of Agriculture, attributed some of the price increases to sanctions, which targeted the country's kiwi crop.
However, he acknowledged that the same kiwis are being exported this year, and this has further inflated their cost on the domestic market.
"We need to examine how to reform this process," he said, suggesting that the government may need to take action to prevent further price surges.
Kiwis are now being sold for up to 2,400,000 rials ($2.7) per kilogram, a price that eats up nearly two percent of the average monthly salary.
Tasnim News, a media outlet linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, reported on Saturday that, based on field observations, kiwi prices in Tehran range from $1 to $2.7 per kilogram.
Prior to the increase, the ILNA news agency warned that the purchasing power of Iranian workers has plummeted by a quarter this year, compared to the last decade.
The kiwi price hikes come on the heels of similar price increases for potatoes. Reports indicate that potatoes in Iran have risen to 900,000 rials per kilogram (around $1), spurred in part by extensive exports.
Mehrdad Lahoti, a member of the Iranian parliament, said that while Iran once exported over one million tons of potatoes, poor management has now led to rotting stockpiles in warehouses. "Iran has become an importer of this product," Lahoti said.
To stabilize soaring potato prices, Iran is importing 50,000 tons of the staple vegetable, according to deputy agricultural minister Akbar Fat’hi.
Further complicating the issue, a review of customs data reveals that Iran exported 307,000 tons of potatoes in the first nine months of the year at a price of just 140,000 rials (15 cents) per kilogram, with much of it going to Iraq and Afghanistan.
In neighboring Iraq, Iranian agricultural exports are also causing economic strain. Iraqi tomato farmers in Basra have been dealing with price crashes due to the influx of cheaper Iranian tomatoes, which often flood the local markets.
According to Al Jazeera, farmers in Basra struggle to cover their production costs as tomatoes imported from Iran undercut local prices.
Back in Iran, political leaders are offering mixed explanations for the rising prices. President Masoud Pezeshkian argued that external sanctions are driving up costs.
"The enemies think that if they siege us, we will die from hunger," he said on Saturday.
Morteza Fazaeli, a member of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s office, said on Saturday that domestic mismanagement is a key factor in the country’s economic woes.
With food prices continuing to rise and the purchasing power of citizens steadily declining, many Iranians are increasingly confronted with a difficult economic reality as the rial loses value by the hour, now being exchanged at 900,000 per dollar.