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Jul 08, 2023

Documents appear to show Iran's interest in Syrian phosphates for uranium production

Documents uncovered by a US/UK-based Iranian news outlet appear to show Iran’s

Documents uncovered by a US/UK-based Iranian news outlet appear to show Iran's interest in massive imports of phosphates from territory it controls in Syria as a source of uranium for its nuclear program.

According to the Iran International report on Thursday, Iran's Atomic Energy Agency (AEOI) requested that 800,000 tons of phosphate — a rock from which uranium can be extracted — be imported from Syria and that the government cover the cost.

"In order to supply part of the uranium needed for the country's nuclear industry, this organization [AEOI] is mulling a project to extract uranium from Syria's phosphate mines, the exploitation of which is at the disposal of the Islamic Republic," wrote Mohammad Eslami, chair of the AEOI.

"Due to the high grade of uranium in the phosphate soil of these mines, the extraction of the element and the preparation of yellowcake from it is technically more feasible than the extraction of uranium from low-grade radioactive mines of Iran," the letter read.

In another document, the Iranian president's office asks senior government officials if "the annual purchase of phosphates from Syria" can be arranged for the nuclear agency.

Yellowcake is a uranium concentrate in powder form and an early step in uranium processing. It is produced by mining uranium ore from rocks and separating the uranium from the rocks by bathing them in acid. The yellowcake can then be converted, enriched to raise its purity, and then used for weapons or energy production.

The report came as Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday visited Damascus and met with Syria's President Bashar Assad — an Iranian president's first visit to Damascus since 2010.

The two signed a series of long-term cooperation agreements on oil and other sectors to bolster economic ties between the two allies.

Constrained by international sanctions, Iran may be resorting to unconventional sources, such as phosphate, to extract uranium. In 2017, Syria signed over to Iran the right to operate phosphate mines in Sharqiya, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the ancient city of Palmyra.

The Khunayfis mine, also under Iranian contract, is the preferred site for extraction because it is richer in uranium, according to the reported documents.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday said Iran has amassed enough fissile material for five nuclear bombs, warning the Islamic Republic against further enriching uranium toward weapons-grade levels.

"Make no mistake — Iran will not be satisfied by a single nuclear bomb. So far, Iran has gained material enriched to 20% and 60% for five nuclear bombs," Gallant told his Greek counterpart Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos during a visit to Athens.

"Iranian progress, and enrichment to 90%, would be a grave mistake on Iran's part, and could ignite the region," he added.

Iran is not believed to have yet enriched uranium to 90%, the purity needed for nuclear weapons, but can quickly do so from current enrichment levels if it chooses.

It holds stockpiles of uranium enriched to 20% and 60% in violation of the 2015 accord limiting its nuclear program, which it has increasingly breached since then-United States president Donald Trump withdrew the US from the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions.

Talks to reinstate the nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers restarted in April 2021, but have been stalled since last year as Iran forges ahead with its nuclear ambitions.

Top US officials recently estimated that Iran could produce sufficient fissile material for a nuclear weapon in two weeks if it desires, but would need additional months to ready a bomb for use.

The US also believes Iran does not yet have all of the technology required to build a bomb and has not made a final decision to build a weapon, which Iranian leaders have repeatedly claimed they have no intention of doing.

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