The Islamic Republic announced on Friday that it had reached 60% in its level of enriched uranium, marking the highest percentage ever; Salehi: Any enrichment level that we desire is in our reach at the moment, and we can do it at any time we want.

On Friday, the Islamic Republic of Iran revealed that it had increased its uranium enrichment level to 60%, marking the highest level it has ever obtained. It was just months ago that Iran began enriching at 20%, which was still well short of what is considered the weapons-grade level of 90%. 60% is a far different story.

Though the Republic has claimed several times that its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes, Friday’s revelation is quite alarming especially considering the increase in Iranian aggression in recent months. Iran began publicly violating the terms of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Iran nuclear deal, following the 2018 US withdrawal citing numerous violations.

As reported by the Associated Press, Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said, “Any enrichment level that we desire is in our reach at the moment, and we can do it at any time we want.”

When Iran revealed it had reached 20%, that was considered a massive violation of the terms set in the JCPOA, requiring them to enrich uranium at no higher than 3.67%.