The Obama Admin’s Dangerous Legitimization of Uranium Enrichment

The most serious flaw in the Obama administration’s nuclear diplomacy with Iran concerns its decision to concede the “right” to enrich uranium. Under a final nuclear deal, Iran will be allowed to enrich uranium with thousands of centrifuges and develop more advanced centrifuges.

The United States has long resisted agreeing to uranium enrichment in bilateral agreements to share peaceful nuclear technology with friendly states.  The reason is because although uranium enrichment can be used for peaceful purposes, such as producing nuclear fuel rods or nuclear medicines, it is very easy to use this process to make nuclear weapons fuel.

At an April 16, 2015 Heritage Foundation panel, I discussed how Iran has failed to provide a convincing explanation for why it needs to enrich uranium as part of a peaceful nuclear program.  You can watch my remarks on this issue HERE.

Gregory  Jones, a Senior Researcher with the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, also weighed in on this issue at the Heritage Foundation panel and said the Obama administration has severely weakened America’s nonproliferation policy by legitimizing uranium enrichment.  According to Jones, the nuclear deal with Iran that the Obama administration is seeking will make it difficult for the United States to deny uranium enrichment to other states in the future and will cause several Middle Eastern countries to start their own enrichment programs.  His remarks in the below video are worth watching.