IAEA reports secret modification of Iranian nuclear facility

Tehran [Iran], February 3: Iran has secretly modified a facility for the production of highly enriched uranium, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Tehran had violated its obligation to inform the IAEA about such steps, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said in Vienna on Wednesday. The plant has been producing uranium with a purity of up to 60% since the end of 2022. Grossi has pointed out in the past that Iran has thus approached the 90% enrichment level needed to produce nuclear weapons. Iranian politicians have stressed for years that they do not want to build nuclear weapons. According to Grossi on Wednesday, IAEA inspectors discovered during an unannounced inspection of the Fordo nuclear facility, south of the capital Tehran, that enrichment machines had been "significantly" modified since November.
The IAEA did not say whether and how this had increased production capacity. Grossi told the European Parliament last week that Iran already had enough uranium for several nuclear weapons if the material was further enriched. However, Tehran still had a long way to go with technical and political hurdles before it could build such weapons, Grossi stressed. (dpa)
Source: Qatar Tribune