US to purchase 32 tonnes of heavy water from Iran

The United States will purchase 32 tonnes of heavy water from Iran worth $ 8.6 million.

The US State Department said the purchase was designed to help Iran meet its obligations under the nuclear deal signed last year.

Officials said the heavy water, which can also be used to produce weapons-grade plutonium, would be resold for research purposes.

The United States intends to store the heavy water in Oak Ridge Laboratory in Tennessee before reselling it.

The deal has been criticised by US Republicans.  Paul Ryan, the speaker of the House of Representatives, said it was “another unprecedented concession to the world’s leading state-sponsor of terrorism”.

Under last year’s deal, Iran is responsible for reducing its stock of heavy water, which it can sell, dilute or dispose of.

Iran is permitted to keep up to 130 tonnes of heavy water at present and up to 90 tonnes in its modified Arak nuclear reactor when completed.

The US Department of Energy said in a statement that the US will not automatically buy Iranian heavy water in the future.