State Dept. Accuses Iran of ‘Nuclear Extortion’ as Tehran Amps Up Uranium Enrichment – By Adam Kredo (Free Beacon) / April 9 2020
The State Department accused Iran of “nuclear extortion” in the wake of new moves by Tehran to significantly increase its production of enriched uranium, a key nuclear component that the Islamic Republic is barred from producing.
Iran declared this week that it would “continue its uranium enrichment” until the United States and European nations scale back economic sanctions and provide Tehran with access to cash. Iran has been steadily increasing its production of uranium during the past several months and is now threatening to vastly increase its in-country stockpile of the nuclear substance.
At the same time, Tehran has taken steps to renovate its Arak heavy water facility, a contested nuclear site that could be used to provide Iran with an alternate plutonium-based pathway to a nuclear weapon.
The State Department said it is closely monitoring Iran’s continued enrichment efforts and will be taking steps to hold Tehran accountable for its “nuclear extortion.”
“Unfortunately, Iran’s continued expansion of uranium enrichment activities comes as no surprise,” a State Department official told the Washington Free Beacon on Thursday. “This is something that they threaten regularly in a transparent attempt at nuclear extortion.”
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