Iran could enrich uranium to 20 percent within 4 days -atomic chief

FILE PHOTO - Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi speaks to Reuters during an interview in Brussels, Belgium November 27, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman

GENEVA (Reuters) - Iran can enrich uranium up to 20 percent within four days, its atomic energy chief said on Tuesday, a comment apparently aimed at showing Tehran could quickly expand its enrichment programme if its nuclear deal with world powers collapses.

Iran’s 2015 accord with world powers caps the level to which it is able to enrich uranium to 3.67 percent purity, well below the 20 percent it was reaching before the deal, and the roughly 90 percent suitable for a nuclear weapon.