Iran’s Enriched Uranium Stockpile Near Isfahan

While military technology advances on the battlefield, international concern has focused on reports that Iran still possesses a large quantity of highly enriched uranium hidden deep underground.

According to reporting by Le Monde, approximately 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity remain buried around 200 meters underground near Isfahan.

To understand the significance of this claim, it is important to examine how uranium enrichment works.

Natural uranium contains only about 0.7 percent of the fissile isotope U-235, which is necessary for nuclear reactions.

For civilian nuclear power plants, uranium is typically enriched to around 3 to 5 percent.

However, uranium enriched to 60 percent is far closer to weapons-grade material, which generally requires about 90 percent enrichment.

Experts often describe 60-percent enriched uranium as being “near-weapons-grade”, meaning that relatively little additional processing would be needed to produce material suitable for nuclear weapons.

This is why international monitoring agencies and Western governments view Iran’s enrichment activities as a significant concern.