France, Germany, UK concerned over Iranian uranium enrichment

BERLIN • France, Germany and Britain expressed grave concern yesterday about a report that said Iran had accelerated its enrichment of uranium to near weapons-grade, saying this was a serious violation of its commitments.

"Iran must halt activities in violation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) without delay," said a joint statement from the foreign ministries of the three nations that was released in Germany. "We urge Iran to return to the negotiations in Vienna as soon as possible with a view to bringing them to a swift, successful conclusion. We have repeatedly stressed that time is on no-one's side," the statement added.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a report on Tuesday seen by Reuters that Iran had increased the purity to which it was refining uranium to 60 per cent - from 20 per cent in April - in response to an explosion and power cut at the Natanz site that damaged output at the main underground enrichment plant there.

Iran has blamed the attack on Israel. Weapons-grade is around 90 per cent purity.

In May, the UN atomic energy watchdog reported that Iran was using one cascade, or cluster, of advanced centrifuges to enrich to up to 60 per cent at its above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Natanz. The IAEA informed member states on Tuesday that Iran was now using a second cascade for that purpose, too.

The move is the latest of many by Iran breaching the restrictions imposed by the 2015 nuclear deal, which capped the purity to which Teheran can refine uranium at 3.67 per cent.

The United States and its European allies have warned that such moves threaten talks on reviving the nuclear deal, which are currently suspended.

Following Reuters' report, Teheran reiterated that its nuclear programme is peaceful and said it had informed the IAEA about its enrichment activities. It added that its moves away from the 2015 deal would be reversed if Washington returned to the accord and lifted sanctions, Iranian state media reported.

"If the other parties return to their obligations under the nuclear accord and Washington fully and verifiably lifts its unilateral and illegal sanctions... all of Iran's mitigation and countermeasures will be reversible," Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh was quoted as saying by state media.

The IAEA said early this week that Iran had made progress in its work on enriched uranium metal despite objections by Western powers that there is no credible civilian use for such work.

Uranium metal can be used to make the core of a nuclear bomb, but Iran maintains that its aims are peaceful and that it is developing reactor fuel.

Meanwhile, stalled nuclear talks with Iran will be at the top of the agenda when US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett meet next week.

"The President and Prime Minister Bennett will discuss critical issues related to regional and global security, including Iran," said White House press secretary Jen Psaki in a statement announcing the leaders' first in-person meeting at the White House on Aug 26.

Talks between Teheran and six world powers on reviving the nuclear pact ditched three years ago by Mr Biden's predecessor Donald Trump have stalled since they began in April.

The White House meeting will come less than three weeks after US Central Intelligence Agency director William Burns held talks in Israel with Mr Bennett on Iran.

REUTERS