Iran 'temporarily halts' uranium enrichment to 20 per cent

Telegraph - Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, an MP who serves on the foreign affairs committee, said there was currently “no production at all” of uranium enriched to 20 per cent purity.

In theory, Iran could convert this material into the weapons-grade uranium needed for a nuclear bomb relatively quickly. In reality, much of it has already been processed into harmless fuel rods for civilian use.

If all production has stopped, then Iran would be pulling back from the threshold of being able to make a nuclear weapon.

Mr Hosseini told parliament’s website that there was “no need for further production” of 20 per cent enriched uranium. The material has been used to run the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR), a civilian facility designed to produce medical isotopes. Mr Hosseini said the TRR currently had all the fuel it needed.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), whose inspectors monitor Iran’s nuclear plants, declined to confirm or deny the claim. The Foreign Office also declined to comment.

Talks between Iran and six world powers are due to resume in Geneva on Nov 7. If Iran has stopped producing uranium enriched to 20 per cent, this gesture could help the negotiations to make progress.

A meeting in Geneva earlier this month ended on a rare note of optimism, with both sides saying that the confrontation over Iran’s nuclear ambitions could be defused within months.

Iran’s economy is steadily collapsing under the weight of international sanctions, increasing the pressure on President Hassan Rouhani’s new government to reach agreement with America and its allies.