Following reports of highly enriched uranium, Iran says it is now working with United Nations inspectors to clear up “ambiguities” surrounding its nuclear program. Representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are in Tehran and have begun “negotiations, visits and inspections,” the semi-official news agency Tasnim quoted the head of Iran’s nuclear program, Mohammed Eslami, as saying on Wednesday.
“Anything created by an inspector will be resolved,” Eslami said. “Interactions and coordination” will prevent “new ambiguities and disruptions” from arising in cooperation with the IAEA.
According to diplomats, inspectors from the UN nuclear supervisory authority discovered uranium enriched to 84 percent in Iran. That comes close to nuclear weapons capability. The IAEA said it was holding talks with the leadership in Tehran about the latest findings. On Monday, a spokesman for the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency said Tehran had not exceeded a purity level of 60 percent.
Iran has denied accusations that it wants to build nuclear weapons and has always stated that its nuclear program is only for energy production. Since April 2021, the country has been enriching uranium with a purity of up to 60 percent. Uranium enriched to around 90 percent is required to build atomic bombs. The 2015 International Nuclear Deal with Iran was intended to limit the country’s nuclear program. In 2018, however, the USA, under then-President Donald Trump, withdrew from the agreement and called for stricter measures. As a result, Iran gradually withdrew. The prospects for a revival of the agreement are currently poor, also given the tensions between Iran and the West over the crackdown on anti-government protests in the Islamic Republic and the Russian war against Ukraine.