FACT BRIEF

Have Iranian authorities said that they will halt all uranium enrichment if the US repeals sanctions?

Friday, May 28, 2021

By Jacob Alabab-Moser

Copy link

Copy featured image

Iran has never agreed to entirely stop enriching uranium, a process needed to create nuclear fuel.

Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said in March 2021 that Iran’s “definite policy” is that the nation will only recommit to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 nuclear deal, if the U.S. lifts sanctions against Iran. In the 2015 agreement Iran agreed to a 3.67% limit on uranium-235 enrichment. In May 2021, Iran began enriching uranium up to 63% following an explosion at its Natanz enrichment plant. Lower levels of enriched uranium can be used to fuel nuclear power plants. Uranium enriched beyond 90% can be used to make nuclear weapons.

The U.S. withdrew from the 2015 agreement in May 2018, reimposing all sanctions on Iran that the deal had previously lifted. Iran then began violating the agreement’s terms.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Tehran Times Iran’s inviolable JCPOA policy in words of Ayatollah Khamenei

Tehran Times Iran to halt 20% enrichment only if sanctions lifted: Press TV

Reuters Iran has enriched uranium to up to 63% purity, IAEA says

Arms Control Association The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) at a glance

Washington Post Full text of the Iran nuclear deal

World Nuclear Association Uranium enrichment

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.