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Technical Hurdles Could Stall Iranian Uranium Enrichment for Several Months, Experts Say
Iran may need several months to correct technical difficulties at its Isfahan uranium conversion facility before being able to generate uranium hexafluoride pure enough for enrichment, the next step in producing reactor or bomb fuel, Platts Nuclear Fuel reported last month (see GSN, Sept. 7). Iran was able to generate initial amounts of UF6 “within a few hours” of resuming operations at Isfahan on Aug. 10 (see GSN, Aug. 16), an official at the Vienna headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency told Platts (Mark Hibbs, Platts Nuclear Fuel, Aug. 15). The quality of UF6, however, was so poor that it could not be used as feedstock for enrichment, Reuters reported yesterday. “The UF6 is crap,” said a Western diplomat in Vienna. “I wouldn’t say it’s garbage,” said another Western diplomat. “But the UF6 produced at Isfahan is of such poor quality that if it were fed into centrifuges it could damage them.” “It makes one wonder why they’re so insistent about running (Isfahan) at this point,” another diplomat said. Several EU officials said Iran would maintain continuous work at Isfahan rather than showing weakness in the face of Western pressure by halting activity. “It’s a question of dignity,” said one diplomat. China, India, Russia and South Africa all unsuccessfully attempted to persuade Iran last week to suspend conversion for a few weeks in order to avoid a U.N. Security Council showdown, according to diplomats (Reuters, Sept. 27). To obtain pure UF6, Iran must operate the plant initially at very low levels in order to control the process and minimize contamination, a learning process that could take “several months,” officials at the International Atomic Energy Agency told Platts. Mastering the technology could take even longer if components and processes introduced in the last year by Iran require further modification, the experts added. Iran’s hurried efforts could indicate it is attempting to create an impression of a far greater mastery of the technology than it in fact has, said Gary Samore, vice president for global security and sustainability at the MacArthur Foundation in Chicago. “Iran took steps which seemed to imply to the outside world that it was on the verge of making a dramatic breakthrough in its enrichment program. They haven’t apparently wanted us to know that things haven’t been problem-free,” said Samore (Hibbs, Platts Nuclear Fuel, Aug. 15).
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