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Iran’s Nuclear Stockpile Grows, Complicating Negotiations
(New York Times) David E. Sanger and William J. Broad - With only one month left before a deadline to complete a nuclear deal with Iran, international inspectors have reported that Tehran’s stockpile of nuclear fuel increased about 20 percent over the last 18 months of negotiations, partially undercutting the Obama administration’s contention that the Iranian program had been “frozen” during that period. The extent to which Iran’s stockpile has increased was documented in a report issued Friday by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN organization that monitors compliance with nuclear treaties. The overall increase in Iran’s stockpile poses a major diplomatic and political challenge for President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry. The administration will have to convince Congress and America’s allies that Iran will shrink its stockpile by 96 percent in a matter of months after a deal is signed, even while it continues to produce new material and has demonstrated little success in reducing its current stockpile.