Iran has begun enriching uranium close to weapons-grade levels, according to a report released by the United Nations nuclear watchdog Wednesday, sending Tehran closer to becoming a nuclear power.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, said in its report that Iran had produced uranium particles that were enriched up to 83.7% purity at its Fordo fuel enrichment plant south of Tehran.
In a separate statement, U.S. allies France, Germany and the United Kingdom issued a stark warning over Iran’s nuclear activities.
“The full range of findings outlined by the Director General’s report are alarming: Iran continues its unprecedented and grave nuclear escalation,” Corinne Kitsell and Götz Schmidt-Bremme, the British and German ambassadors to the nuclear watchdog respectively, said in the statement.
They cited the report prepared by IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi. NBC News reviewed a copy of the report Wednesday.
“This is significantly inconsistent with the level of enrichment declared by Iran and Iran has yet to convince us that this was due to its claimed ‘unintended fluctuations,’” the joint statement added.
Reuters and other outlets previously reported the IAEA’s finding, citing Grossi’s report. The Iranian government did not respond to requests for comment, but Tehran told the agency that the high levels of enrichment were “unintended fluctuations,” according to the report.
Iran has maintained it is not interested in obtaining nuclear weapons.
Laura Holgate, the U.S. ambassador to the IAEA, noted in a statement that “no other country in the world today utilizes uranium enriched to 60 percent for the purpose Iran claims,” and yet Tehran insists it is “unfairly targeted by others.”
“The reality remains that Iran continues to single itself out through its own actions,” she said. “Iran should cease its nuclear provocations and its continued pursuit of steps that pose grave proliferation risks.”
A National Security Council spokesperson…
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