Inside the Ring

Iran’s nuclear program

Iran has dramatically increased the amount of low-enriched uranium produced by its growing number of centrifuges that are part of its nuclear fuel production system.

According to a CIA report to Congress, “During the reporting period, Iran continued to expand its nuclear infrastructure and continued uranium enrichment and activities related to its heavy water research reactor, despite multiple United Nations Security Council Resolutions since late 2006 calling for the suspension of those activities.”

The little-noticed report covering 2008 was released without comment by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) on March 12. It was produced by the CIA’s Weapons Intelligence, Nonproliferation and Arms Control Center, known as WINPAC, and approved by the National Intelligence Council.

The findings, similar to those reported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog, come as the Obama administration prepares to engage Iran in a new diplomatic approach to the nuclear program.

The report repeats a controversial 2007 U.S. intelligence judgment that Tehran in 2003 halted nuclear weapons design and weaponization activities. However, it stated that “we do not know whether Tehran currently intends to develop nuclear weapons,” although the Iranians appear to be considering it.

Iran says its nuclear activities are peaceful and not intended to make atomic weapons.

This year’s report, known as the Section 721 report after a provision of the 1997 intelligence authorization law, provided more details than a 2007 report.

A comparison of the two reports shows that Iran produced 75 kilograms of low-enriched uranium (LEU) in 2007 and about 555 kilograms of LEU last year, described by the CIA as a “significant” increase.

At Natanz, the underground Iranian nuclear site, the number of centrifuges increased from 3,000 in 2007 to about 5,000 by November. Between December 2007 and November, Iran fed about 8,080 kilograms of uranium hexafluoride gas into the centrifuges to produce the LEU.

Additionally, Iran began using more advanced centrifuges last year, identified as IR-2 and IR-3, which were fed with test amounts of uranium hexafluoride.

Low-enriched uranium can be used for fuel in electricity-generating nuclear power stations, but it also can be further enriched to produce fuel for nuclear weapons.

The CIA report said the IAEA continued to call on Iran to explain past “military-led, covert uranium conversion and nuclear weaponization work prior to 2003.”

Iran also continued development of Shahab-3 medium-range missiles with assistance from China, North Korea and Russia, the report said. Additionally, Iran is attempting to purchase advanced S-300 air defense missiles from Russia and “we judge likely deployment locations for this system include Iran’s nuclear facilities,” the report said.

China also was criticized in the report for continued proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

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