France on Thursday called developments in Iran's nuclear program "very concerning" after the UN nuclear watchdog reported finding uranium particles enriched just under the 90 percent needed for an atomic bomb.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report described inspectors discovering on Jan. 21 that two cascades of IR-6 centrifuges at Iran’s Fordo facility had been configured in a way “substantially different” to what had been previously declared. The IAEA took samples the following day, which showed particles with up to 83.7% purity, the report said.
"This report states that the direction Iran is taking is very concerning," French foreign ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre told reporters, adding this development was "unprecedented and extremely serious".
Last week, Iran claimed it had not made any attempt to enrich uranium beyond 60 percent.
The head of the IAEA is to meet with Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran on Saturday to try to "relaunch the dialogue" on the country's atomic work, a diplomatic source said Wednesday.
The IAEA tweeted that Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi would hold a news conference upon his return from Iran to Vienna on Saturday.
Iran has been enriching uranium well over the limits laid down in a landmark 2015 deal with world powers, which started to unravel when the United States withdrew from it in 2018.
