During a crucial IAEA board meeting in Vienna, the U.S. accused Iran of violating the very nuclear deal that U.S. negotiators are trying to reinstate.
“Since this Board last met, Iran has also exceeded JCPOA constraints by enriching uranium to 60 percent U-235,” the U.S. delegation said in a statement.
The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, issued a similar warning. “My expectations about this process, of course, were not met,” the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director said. “We have a country that has a very developed and ambitious nuclear program, which is enriching at very high levels, enriching uranium at very high levels, very close to weapons-grade.”
The head of the IAEA said it is no longer possible to say for certain that Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons, chastising Tehran for failing to answer questions about the discovery of uranium particles at former undeclared nuclear sites.
“The Iranian government has reiterated its will to engage and to cooperate and to provide answers,” Grossi said. “But they haven’t done that so far. So I hope this may change, but as we speak, we haven’t had any concrete progress on any of the issues.”
