TEHRAN (Iran News) –  The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran says the Islamic Republic possesses over 120 kilograms of 20% enriched uranium to supply its research reactor in Tehran with fuel.

“We have exceeded 120 kilograms and in this matter, we are ahead of schedule. Earlier, based on the JCPOA, 20% uranium fuel was supposed to be provided for the Tehran reactor(from abroad), but it was not given, and if we had not started making this amount of fuel ourselves, this would have turned into one of our problems today,” Mohammad Eslami said in a live interview on national TV on Saturday evening.

The Iranian nuclear chief said the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran has almost fully adhered to the parliament’s law on sanctions removal.

The law was passed in December last year in response to a failure by remaining parties to the nuclear deal to fulfill their obligations and make up for unilateral U.S. sanctions against Tehran.

“20% and 60% nuclear fuel production has been carried out and planning is underway for the production of uranium metal, IR2M and IR6 centrifuges are being built,” he explained.

Eslami also criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency for failing to denounce a sabotage operation against Iran’s Karaj nuclear site back in June, adding that the IAEA’s silence effectively encouraged such terrorist acts.

Several Iranian nuclear energy sites and many nuclear scientists have come under attack over the past years with Israel behind them.

Eslami explained that the agency was not allowed to replace damaged cameras at the Iranian sabotaged site as required under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action because the U.S. and the Europeans have failed to keep their part of the deal.

Meanwhile referring to the cameras installed at Iran’s nuclear sites, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said that the Safeguard and JCPOA-related cameras are fundamentally different from each other.

Asked about the difference between the cameras installed at Iran’s nuclear sites, Eslami said, “At the definite time, IAEA inspectors review the memory cards of the safeguard cameras in the nuclear sites. then they cut the cards, leaving them aside in a sealed envelope.”

In another word, under regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Safeguards Agreement, the agency’s cameras record data at Iran’s nuclear sites just like other sites across the world.

In December 2020, the Iranian Parliament passed the Law on “Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions and Protect Rights of the People” that prompted the Iranian administration to restrict the IAEA’s inspections and accelerate the development of the country’s nuclear program beyond the limits set by the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement.

The IAEA inspectors take out these old memory cards and seal them in the presence of the Iranian side, Mohammad Eslami said, adding that therefore the inspectors do not have access to the data.

They only insert the new memory card, he said.

He also spoke about the number of cameras that were damaged in the wake of terrorist operations.

The IAEA sought to install a new camera on the Karaj nuclear site, he said, adding, “But we told them that this is not necessary.”