January 23, 2025 | Flash Brief
‘Pressing the Gas Pedal’: UN Nuclear Watchdog Chief Warns of Iran’s Accelerating Enrichment
January 23, 2025 | Flash Brief
‘Pressing the Gas Pedal’: UN Nuclear Watchdog Chief Warns of Iran’s Accelerating Enrichment
Latest Developments
- ‘Pressing the Gas Pedal’: The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said on Wednesday that Iran is “pressing the gas pedal” on enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels. This follows Grossi’s warning in December 2024 that Iran had “dramatically” accelerated enrichment at the 60 percent purity level, which represents nearly all of the effort to make 90 percent or weapons-grade uranium.
- Iran Accelerates Uranium Enrichment: Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Grossi revealed that Iran has increased production from seven kilograms to over 30 kilograms per month. According to the IAEA, approximately 42 kilograms of 60 percent enriched uranium is enough to produce one nuclear bomb. Grossi said Iran currently possesses about 200 kilograms. No other country has enriched to these levels without producing nuclear weapons.
- Support from Russia and China: During a joint press conference with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on January 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia is aiding Iran’s civil nuclear work despite sanctions and pressure. Simultaneously, reports indicate that China is supplying Tehran with a key missile propellant ingredient, making the Chinese entities involved subject to U.S. sanctions aimed at degrading Iran’s weapons program.
FDD Expert Analysis
“The Biden administration gifted Trump an Iran on the threshold of nuclear weapons. The Trump team must not allow Tehran to rope it into aimless talks for another flawed nuclear deal. It should get right to the important task of pressuring, penalizing, and rolling back Iran’s nuclear advances while restoring a credible threat of military strikes.” — Andrea Stricker, Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program Deputy Director and Research Fellow
“We can’t let Iran’s acceleration of enrichment distract us from its weaponization-related activities, nor can we ignore the basic truth that Iran will always be able to threaten us like this so long as it retains the underlying infrastructure and capabilities. Iran may want to snooker us into another JCPOA, but we need to stay focused on removing the entirety of the Iranian nuclear threat once and for all.” — Richard Goldberg, FDD Senior Advisor
“Iran’s escalating uranium enrichment is designed to stall the new administration’s maximum pressure policy and is a source of leverage for the regime. To that end, Tehran is hoping to sharpen its nuclear threat to push Washington into settling for another bad deal. At most, that would mean a call to pause work related to capabilities and technologies that Tehran has already mastered in exchange for sanctions relief and taking the regime off life support.” — Behnam Ben Taleblu, Iran Program Senior Director and Senior Fellow
FDD Background and Analysis
“How Trump Can Counter Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions,” by Reuel Marc Gerecht and Mark Dubowitz
“Russia Touts Illicit Nuclear Work in Iran,” By Andrea Stricker
“Israel must prepare for confrontation with Iran after Trump inauguration,” by Jacob Nagel
“The Curious Case of Iran’s Destroyed Nuclear Site,” by Andrea Stricker