The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) discovered that about 2.5 tons of uranium had disappeared from one of the Libyan test sites. The organization’s director, Rafael Grossi, announced this in his confidential letter that he sent to UN member states. With proof meet Reuters.
IAEA experts made such a conclusion after the inspection of the facility, which took place on March 14, the letter said. As Grossi clarified, the check was originally scheduled for 2022, but it was postponed “due to the security situation in the region”.
During the inspection, the IAEA found that 10 barrels of approximately 2.5 tons of natural uranium in the form of UOC (uranium ore concentrate), which, according to the Libyan authorities, were stored on the site, “were not at this place”. said the document. What type of Libyan installation it is, Reuters does not specify.
“Loss of information about the current location of nuclear material may pose a radiation hazard, as well as (create) problems (for) nuclear safety,” the letter states.
In 2003, Libya, led by Muammar Gaddafi, abandoned its nuclear weapons program. Then the Libyan state, which has not been very successful in creating nuclear weapons, had centrifuges capable of enriching uranium, as well as information on the design of a nuclear bomb, notes Reuters . In 2011 Gaddafi was overthrown and from 2014 to 2022 there was a civil war in the country.
Mid-February, Bloomberg informed citing sources that international observers have found in Iran uranium enriched up to 84% – just below the level required to create nuclear weapons. This case also interested IAEA inspectors, the agency noted. Iranian authorities denied this information and claimed that Tehran had not yet attempted to enrich uranium to a level above 60%.
