The International Atomic Energy Agency later confirmed in a confidential report to member states that Iran was speeding up uranium enrichment, a process that refines the raw material so that it can be used as fuel in civil nuclear power generation or, potentially, nuclear weapons.
“The information reported by the Director General of the Agency, indicating a significant increase in Iran’s capacity to produce highly enriched uranium at 60 per cent, is extremely serious,” the Western diplomatic source told Reuters.
“These measures have no credible civilian justification and could, on the contrary, directly fuel a military nuclear programme if Iran were to take the decision … They are in contradiction with Iran’s declarations on its willingness to return to credible negotiations”.
