LOC17:16
14:16 GMT
TEHRAN, Aug 13 (KUNA) - Iran on Tuesday increased its stockpile of enriched uranium 4.5 percent to about 370 kg, said the Iranian news agency (IRNA).
"Iran increased its stockpile of enriched uranium about 360 to 370 kg," IRNA quoted Iranian Atomic Energy Organization spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi as saying.
Last month, Iran announced that it had enriched uranium with a purity of 4.5 percent as part of a decision to reduce its nuclear pledges after the expiration of the 60-day deadline it gave two months ago to the EU countries.
Iran believes that these measures are in response to the withdrawal of the US from the nuclear agreement last year and the failure of the European countries to fulfill their obligations under the agreement reached in 2015 between Tehran and the Group P5+1.
Earlier today, Iran laid the cornerstone of the National Research Center to separate and develop stable isotope uses at the Fordow nuclear facility.
Iranian Atomic Energy Organization head Ali Akbar Salehi said, "The stable isotopes are diverse and have many uses and methods of obtaining them are numerous, including centrifuges." (end)
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