France, Germany, and Britain have expressed serious concern about the report that Iran has accelerated uranium enrichment to a level close to weapons-grade, saying that it is a serious breach of the country’s obligations. This was reported by Reuters.
At a time when the West and Iran are seeking to resume negotiations on the resumption of the nuclear deal, the UN atomic energy watchdog (IAEA) said that Iran has accelerated uranium enrichment.
In a joint statement, the three countries said they were concerned about IAEA reports confirming that Iran has produced uranium metal-enriched to 20 percent for the first time and has increased production capacity for uranium enriched to 60 percent.
Both, they say, are key steps in the development of nuclear weapons.
“Iran must immediately cease activities in violation of the Comprehensive Plan of Action,” the three foreign ministries said in a joint statement. — We call on Iran to return to the negotiations in Vienna as soon as possible to bring them to a swift and successful conclusion. We have repeatedly stressed that time is on no one’s side,” they added.
Metallic uranium can be used to build the core of a nuclear bomb, but Iran says its goals are peaceful and it is developing reactor fuel.
Accelerated enrichment is the latest move by Iran to violate restrictions imposed by the 2015 nuclear agreement, which limited the degree of purity to which Tehran can purify uranium.
The United States and its European allies have said that such moves threaten negotiations to restore the JCPOA agreement, which is currently on hold.
