DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog was meeting with officials in Iran on Saturday, days after it was revealed that the country had enriched particles of uranium to near weapons-grade, raising new alarm over its long-disputed nuclear program.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, declined to comment on his discussions during a press conference with the head of Iran's nuclear program, saying the delegation's work was still ongoing.
“It's an atmosphere of work, of honesty and cooperation,” Grossi said. He later met with Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi and was expected to speak with reporters upon his return to Vienna.
Earlier this week, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency reported that uranium particles enriched up to 83.7% — just short of weapons-grade — were found in Iran's underground Fordo nuclear site.
The confidential quarterly report by the IAEA, which was distributed to member states on Tuesday, came as tensions were already high amid months of anti-government protests in Iran and Western anger at its export of attack drones to Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.
The IAEA report says that inspectors in January found 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,…
