US Says to Buy 32 Metric Tons of Iran’s Heavy Water

“…the US Government, via the Department of Energy, is making a license purchase of 32 metric tons of heavy water from a subsidiary of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. This heavy water will fulfill a substantial portion of the US domestic demand this year for industry and domestic research applications,” Trudeau said during a press briefing on Friday, the official website of US Department of State reported.

She added that the material is not radioactive and does not present “safety concerns”.

The spokeswoman claimed that the purchase of the heavy water will guarantee that Iran will not use it to “support the development of a nuclear weapon”.

Trudeau further said that the heavy water will be used for research in non-nuclear requirements in the United States.

“I will say heavy water is used in the development, production, and sale of compounds used in chemistry, biomedical and diagnostic research, environmental analysts, and physics.”

Meanwhile, a senior Iranian nuclear negotiator confirmed that Iran will sell 32 metric tons of heavy water to the United States.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Seyed Abbas Araqchi told PressTV in Vienna, Austria, on Friday that the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and a US company reached an agreement on heavy water sale on Friday before a joint commission meeting between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).

The last session of the commission was held on December 7, 2015, in Vienna.

The JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) allows Iran to sell its enriched uranium material -- called UF6 -- and to buy natural uranium or “yellow cake” in return.

Tehran and the Group 5+1 reached the nuclear deal on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16.

The comprehensive nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, terminated all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran.