ROME (Reuters) – The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Thursday Iran appeared to be at odds with the United Nations nuclear watchdog over what information it should provide about its nuclear program.
“We seem to be at odds with Iran over our obligations to the IAEA,” Rafael Grossi said at a conference in Rome, adding he was concerned about recent announcements that Tehran was increasing its enrichment capacity. .
“We need to get the relationship on track,” he said.
Grossi said he “still expects” Tehran to explain the discovery of three undeclared traces of uranium that Tehran unexpectedly discovered years ago. .
According to a recent IAEA report, Iran agreed to a visit by a UN observer mission in November, initiating much-needed responses. However, the meeting has not yet taken place.
The issue of unexplained uranium particles has hampered broader negotiations to revive Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Tehran is now seeking a closure of the IAEA investigation as part of those negotiations, Western countries say.
Grossi said negotiations appeared to have stalled. “At the moment, it doesn’t seem to have the momentum needed for a comeback,” he said.
He added that he was concerned that Iran announced last month that it had begun enriching uranium to 60% purity at the Fordow nuclear power plant.
“Iran has reported not doubling but tripling its uranium enrichment capacity to 60%, which is very close to its military level of 90%,” he said.
“This is not trivial. This is what has consequences. This gives them an inventory of nuclear material that cannot be eliminated…may have other uses.We need to go.” Yes, we have to verify,” he said.
Iran has denied seeking nuclear weapons, saying its nuclear technology is for civilian purposes only.
Reporting by Crispian Balmer, with additional reporting by Francois Murphy.Edited by Philippa Fletcher
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