Iran has warned the UK and other European powers it would retaliate if they “exploit” a UN report alleging that Tehran has failed to declare important details about its nuclear programme.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran had omitted details about nuclear material and nuclear-related activities across three locations in the country.
The nuclear watchdog added that Iran had increased production of highly enriched uranium to up to 60 per cent – uranium needs to be enriched to 90 per cent for atomic weapons.
In December, the UK, France, Germany and the US reportedly planned on submitting a draft resolution to the 35 members of the IAEA’s board at its meeting on June 9.
The three European powers threatened to reimpose sanctions on Iran if the country did not “de-escalate its nuclear programme to create the political environment conducive to meaningful progress and a negotiated solution”.
Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said he had told Rafael Grossi, the IAEA chief, that Tehran would “respond to any inappropriate action by the European parties” in light of the report, and warned them not to “exploit” it to “advance their political objectives”.
According to the report, Iran’s total amount of enriched uranium now exceeds 45 times the limit authorised by a landmark agreement between world powers in 2015. While Iran is only allowed to produce up to 300 kilograms (661.4lbs) of enriched uranium, they are estimated to have 9,247.6kg (20,387.5lbs).
It added that Iran did not “declare nuclear material and nuclear-related activities at three undeclared locations in Iran, specifically, Lavizan-Shian, Varamin and Turquzabad”.
It said: “These three locations, and other possible related locations, were part of an undeclared structured nuclear programme carried out by Iran until the early 2000s … some activities used undeclared nuclear material.”
The report said that Iran now possesses 408.6 kg (900.8lbs) enriched uranium up to 60 per cent purity and that Tehran has “repeatedly either not answered or not provided technically credible answers to the agency’s questions, and has sanitised locations as listed in this report, which has impeded agency verification activities”.
Iran is now “the only non-nuclear-weapon state to produce such material”, which was a cause of “serious concern” , the report said.
According to the IAEA, if Iran were to further enrich the uranium it currently has to 90 per cent purity, they would have enough to produce 10 nuclear bombs.
Donald Trump, the US president, has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities if diplomacy fails to resolve a decades-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said Washington had sent a “detailed and acceptable proposal” to Iran and it was in “their best interest to accept it”.
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