Iran increased stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium

VIENNA — A confidential report by the United Nations' nuclear watchdog circulated to member states and seen by The Associated Press said Wednesday that Iran increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels before Israel launched its military attack on June 13. The report by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said that as of June 13, Iran had 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60%, an increase of 32.3 kilograms (71.2 pounds) since the IAEA's last report in May. The report stated that this figure is "based on the information provided by Iran, agency verification activities between 17 May 2025 and 12 June 2025 (the day preceding the start of the military attacks), and estimates based on the past operation of the relevant facilities." That material is a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. The confidential report also said Iran and the IAEA have not reached an agreement on resuming inspections of sites affected by Israeli and U.S. bombing in June. The only site inspected since the war has been the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which operates with Russian technical assistance. The director general of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, said that "technical modalities to enable the full resumption of Agency inspection should be concluded without delay," the report stated. The report stated that while the withdrawal of UN inspectors from Iran during the war "was necessary given the overall security situation, Tehran's "subsequent decision to cut cooperation with the IAEA was "deeply regrettable." As of June 13, Iran's total enriched uranium stockpile was 9874.9 kilograms, which represents an increase of 627.3 kilograms since the last repot in May, the report said. The IAEA said that since June 13, it has "not been able to conduct the in-field activities required to collect and verify Iran's declarations used to estimate the changes to the previously reported stockpile." According to the IAEA, approximately 42 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium is theoretically enough to produce one atomic bomb, if enriched further to 90%. The IAEA also reported that inspectors have not been able to verify Iran's near bomb-grade stockpile for over two and a half months, which it called "a matter of serious concern."