Iran steps up uranium enrichment despite talks: IAEA
ERBIL, Iraq (North Press) – Iran steps up uranium enrichment capacity despite talks to salvage nuclear deal, the UN atomic watchdog said on Wednesday in coincidence with talks that resumed this week in Vienna after a five-month break.
Iran had started the process of enriching uranium to up to 20 percent purity with one cascade, or cluster, of 166 advanced IR-6 machines at Fordow. Those machines are far more efficient than the first-generation IR-1, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency).
The Iranian move, as International observers warn, could undermine talks on the 2015 nuclear deal, which former US President Donald Trump walked away from in 2018.
Tehran, however, played down the IAEA’s report, describing it as routine.
“The recent report of the IAEA on Iran’s nuclear activities is an ordinary update in line with regular verification in Iran,” Iran’s permanent mission to the U.N. organizations in Vienna said on Twitter.