India and Its Neighborhood- Relations

GS-2

2.IRAN STEPS UP URANIUM ENRICHMENT

Recently, Iran has resumed enriching uranium up to 20% in violation of the 2015 nuclear deal and also seized a South Korean-flagged tanker near the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, the USA has decided to keep nuclear powered aircraft carrier Nimitz in the Gulf region in the wake of threats from Iran.

URANIUM ENRICHMENT:

Natural uranium consists of two different isotopes – nearly 99% U-238 and only around 0.7% of U-235.
U-235 is a fissile material that can sustain a chain reaction in a nuclear reactor.
Enrichment process increases the proportion of U-235 through the process of isotope separation (U-238 is separated from U-235).
For nuclear weapons, enrichment is required upto90% or more which is known as Highly Enriched Uranium/weapons-grade uranium.
For nuclear reactors, enrichment is required upto3-4% which is known as Low Enriched Uranium/reactor-grade uranium.

2015 NUCLEAR DEAL:

In 2015, Iran with the P5+1 group of world powers – the USA, UK, France, China, Russia, and Germanyagreed on a long-term deal on itsnuclear programme.
The deal was named as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)and in common parlance as Iran Nuclear Deal.
Under the deal, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear activity in return for the lifting of sanctions and access to global trade.
The agreement allowed Iran to accumulate small amounts of uranium for research but it banned the enrichment of uranium, which is used to make reactor fuel and nuclear weapons.
Iran was also required to redesign a heavy-water reactor being built, whose spent fuel would contain plutonium suitable for a bomb and to allow international inspections.
In May 2018, the USA abandoned the deal criticising it as flawed and reinstated and tightened its sanctions.
Since sanctions were tightened, Iran has been steadily breaking some of its commitments to pressure the remaining signatories to find a way to providesanctions relief

ISSUES INVOLVED:

The dual incidents come amid heightened tensions between Iran and the USA.
Enrichment could shorten Iran’s time it would take to develop a nuclear bomb.
Israel criticised Iran’s enrichment decision.
Iran’s decision to begin enriching to 20% purity a decade ago nearly triggered an Israeli strike targeting its nuclear facilities, tensions that only abated with the 2015 nuclear deal.
A resumption of 20% enrichment (at fordow facility) could see that brinkmanship return as that level of purity is only a technical stepaway from weapons grade levels of 90%.
Brinkmanship is the art or practice of pursuing a dangerous policy to the limits of safety before stopping, especially in politics.
Previously the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expressed serious concerns over Iran’s blocking of inspections of two suspect locationsof Uranium enrichment for more than four months.

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION:

It is the waterway separating Iran and Oman, linking the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
On the north coast lies Iran, and on the south are the UAE and Musandam, an enclave of Oman.
The Strait is 21 miles wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just two miles wide in either direction.

IMPORTANCE:

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most strategically important choke points.
Two-thirds of the oil and half the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Indian imports come through the strait between Iran and Oman.
As much as 18 million barrels of oil pass through the Strait of Hormuz every day, accounting for one-third of the global oil trade.
A third of the world’s LNG trade also passes through the strait.

WAY FORWARD

All countries part of the 2015 deal should engage constructively and resolve all issues peacefully and through dialogue.
Both the USA and Iran must act with strategic restraint as any crisis in West Asia will not only affect the region as a whole but will have a detrimental impact on global affairs as well.

SOURCE: PIB

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