The United Nations' nuclear watchdog is urging Iran to grant its inspectors access to all nuclear sites, highlighting in a new report that most of the country's highly enriched uranium is stored at an underground tunnel complex at its Isfahan facility The confidential report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), circulated to member states on Friday, underscores growing international concern over Tehran's nuclear program amid a lack of transparency
According to the report, the agency can confirm Iran has been enriching uranium to a purity of 60 percent, a level that is a short technical step from the 90 percent needed for a nuclear weapon The IAEA expressed serious concern that it cannot verify the status or quantity of this stockpile due to a lack of access to key sites, including Isfahan and a new enrichment plant This oversight gap follows previous military action by the United States and Israel against Iranian nuclear facilities, after which Tehran limited cooperation with the agency
The report's circulation comes at a critical time. It was released ahead of a quarterly meeting of the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors next week, where the findings will be discussed It also follows the latest round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran, which ended Thursday without a breakthrough The report could be used by Washington to support its argument for increased pressure on Tehran, as the administration of US President Donald Trump has previously threatened military action
Mohsin Rana
