• Saturday, 23 November 2024

IAEA: Iran failing to clear up questions about nuclear programme

IAEA: Iran failing to clear up questions about nuclear programme
Iran's nuclear programme could be intended to serve either peaceful or military purposes, and the country had done little in recent months to clear up questions hanging over past secret activities, the UN's atomic energy body reported on Wednesday. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) "is not in a position to provide assurance that Iran's nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful," IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi wrote in an unpublished quarterly report seen by dpa. Grossi also reported that Iran had enriched increasing amounts of uranium over recent months and now had at its disposal more than 55 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%. According to experts, around 50 kilograms of this material would suffice for a nuclear weapon based on enrichment to 90%. Tehran has always insisted that its enriched uranium is for generating energy and for other peaceful purposes. Grossi further reported that the IAEA had for three months been unable to observe the production of new centrifuges being used for enrichment after monitoring cameras were removed by the Iranian authorities in June. In reaction to the unilateral withdrawal in 2018 of the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Tehran has been disregarding its provisions since 2019. Washington and Tehran have been negotiating the restoration of the deal since last year, along with the lifting of US sanctions. Iranian demands for the IAEA to halt investigations into various open questions has blocked agreement on the issues still open.