| A general view of the Arak heavy-water project, 190 km (120 miles) southwest of Tehran. REUTERS photo |
Iran has exceeded a soft limit on sensitive material set under its nuclear deal with major powers, the U.N. atomic watchdog said on Wednesday, hours after Donald Trump – who has strongly criticized the agreement – won the U.S. presidential election.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is policing the restrictions placed on Iran’s nuclear activities under the deal it signed last year with the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. The agreement also lifted international sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
The IAEA had “expressed concerns” to Iran over its stock of heavy water, a substance used as a moderator in reactors like the unfinished one at Arak, the agency said in a confidential quarterly report seen by Reuters, adding that Iran’s stock was 130.1 tonnes on Tuesday, just above a soft limit of 130 tonnes.
Iran informed the agency in a letter received on Wednesday of its “plan to make preparations for transfer” of 5 tonnes of heavy water out of the country, the report said. Iran also exceeded the heavy-water limit in February, with 130.9 tonnes.