What is uranium enrichment that makes Israel and the US worried?

The conflict between Israel and Iran began when Israel launched an airstrike on Iran on June 13, killing several senior Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists . In the following days, Iran's nuclear facilities at Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow were targeted by Israel.

Natanz and Fordow are Iran's two uranium enrichment facilities, while Isfahan supplies the feedstock. Therefore, any damage to these facilities could have a major impact on Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons.

Earlier in June, Iran and the United States failed to reach a deal on nuclear energy. According to The New York Times , the United States called on Iran to stop all uranium enrichment activities and proposed forming a regional alliance to produce nuclear energy for Iran, potentially including the United States and other Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Iran refused to give up uranium enrichment.

A series of gas centrifuges at a US enrichment plant in Ohio in 1984. Iran is using similar technology to enrich uranium. Photo: US Department of Energy .

On the morning of June 19, Vietnam time, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that it had just attacked more than 20 military sites in Iran, including centrifuges and nuclear facilities "to help Iran expand the scale and speed of uranium enrichment to manufacture nuclear weapons".

What is “uranium enrichment” and why does it worry Israel and the US?

Uranium enrichment involves isotopes and fission, the process of splitting atomic nuclei to produce energy.

All matter is made up of atoms, which are made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons. The number of protons determines what element an atom is, for example uranium has 92 protons, carbon has 6. However, the same element can exist in different forms, called isotopes, because they have different numbers of neutrons. Although the difference in neutron number does not have much effect on chemical reactions, it is very important in nuclear reactions.

When natural uranium is mined, 99.27% is uranium-238 (92 protons and 146 neutrons), while only 0.72% is uranium-235 (92 protons and 143 neutrons).

Centrifuges used to enrich uranium at Iran's nuclear fuel plant in Natanz in 2019. Thousands were destroyed in a recent Israeli attack. Photo: Atomic Energy Organization of Iran .

Only uranium-235 is capable of sustaining a chain reaction, the reaction in which a neutron splits the nucleus and releases enough energy to cause other neutrons to continue the chain reaction. Atomic bombs work by creating a chain reaction of fission that occurs extremely quickly, creating enormous destructive power.

Enriching uranium means increasing the proportion of uranium-235 in natural material, while removing some of the uranium-238.

There are several ways to enrich uranium, but the most common method today, including in Iran, is to use centrifuges. This method takes advantage of the fact that uranium-238 is about 1% heavier than uranium-235. The uranium is fed into the centrifuge as a gas, spinning it at 70,000 revolutions per minute. As it spins rapidly, the heavier uranium-238 is pushed to the edges, while the uranium-235 concentrates in the middle.

Because the yield per separation is very small, this process must be repeated many times to gradually increase the uranium-235 content.

In civilian power plants, uranium is typically enriched to only 3-5% uranium-235. This is enough to sustain a fission reaction but not enough to make a weapon.

How much enrichment does a nuclear weapon need?

Bomb-making techniques can start with 20% uranium-235, but to make a weapon more compact and effective, 90% is often needed. This is also known as “weapons-grade uranium,” according to The Conversation .

IR-6 centrifuges at a nuclear industry exhibition in 2019. Photo: Tasnim .

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has enriched uranium to 60%. However, going from 60% to 90% is much easier than enriching from the initial 0.72% to 60%, because the more enriched, the less uranium-238 needs to be removed.

According to The New York Times , before the fighting took place, Israeli intelligence showed that Iran was only days away from its uranium enrichment goal, but still had other components that Iran needed to complete the weapon.

This is why the US and Israel, as well as the international community, are concerned that Iran is moving very close to being able to build nuclear weapons, and why centrifuge technology is considered sensitive and often kept secret.

In essence, the technology used to produce fuel for nuclear power plants can also be used to make weapons. The IAEA monitors nuclear facilities around the world to ensure that countries comply with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Although Iran has always insisted that its uranium enrichment is for peaceful purposes, the IAEA board concluded late last week that Iran is in violation of its obligations under the treaty.

Source: https://znews.vn/lam-giau-uranium-la-gi-ma-khien-israel-my-lo-ngai-post1562006.html