Tehran could enrich uranium to 90%, ex-Khamenei advisor says

Detailed summary

Mohammad Javad Larijani, a former senior Iranian judiciary official and adviser to the supreme leader, said on Sunday that Iran could enrich uranium to 90% purity, a level…

Mohammad Javad Larijani, a former senior Iranian judiciary official and adviser to the supreme leader, said on Sunday that Iran could enrich uranium to 90% purity, a level considered weapons-grade, for use in nuclear propulsion systems.

Speaking at a conference on reconsidering Iran's nuclear doctrine, Larijani said Tehran should develop nuclear technology for defensive purposes, arguing that such capabilities did not necessarily mean building an atomic bomb.

"The Americans and Western governments want to swallow us, so we must be a thorny morsel for them," said Larijani, who heads Iran's Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences.

He said Iran was not seeking to build an atomic bomb to attack American cities, but faced the constant threat of war and assassination.

Larijani also rejected demands that Tehran surrender its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% purity.

"They have no right to tell us to hand over our 60% enriched uranium. We still need it, and for propulsion systems we may even go up to 90%," he said.

Uranium enriched to 90% is generally considered weapons-grade, while 60% enrichment is already far beyond the level typically used in civilian nuclear power plants.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Iran International. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.