Atomic Energy is investigating news of Iran's increase in uranium enrichment levels. Tehran denies it and calls for neutrality

The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said that he is aware of what was reported in the press about the high levels of uranium enrichment in Iran. On the other hand, the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization denied the matter and called the IAEA for neutrality.

Grossi added, in press statements on Sunday evening, that the agency is discussing with Iran the results of the recent nuclear verification activities, and that he will inform the agency's board of governors of the details as appropriate.

Earlier Sunday, Bloomberg News reported that the IAEA had discovered enriched uranium with a purity of 84% at an Iranian site, which is close to the purity of nuclear weapons.

Bloomberg reported, quoting diplomats, that the IAEA is trying to determine how the enriched uranium reached 84% purity.

The newspaper added that the inspectors are trying to find out whether Iran has reached this stage on purpose, or if it has accumulated inside the network of pipes associated with the centrifuges.

Iranian response

On the other hand, a spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Behrouz Kamalvandi, said that Iran had not taken any action to enrich uranium by more than 60%.

He added, in response to what was published by Bloomberg, that the presence of uranium atoms enriched by more than 60% is normal during the enrichment process, and stressed that the most important thing is the final product, whose enrichment does not exceed 60%, and explained that the International Atomic Energy Agency knows this well.

Kamalvandi added that the agency's presentation of these issues to the media indicates that it has begun to lose its impartiality, and that this certainly affects its credibility.

Diplomats from Iran, the United States and 5 other countries have been negotiating for months in the Austrian capital, Vienna, about a deal to re-impose restrictions on Tehran's nuclear program in return for lifting economic sanctions that former US President Donald Trump reimposed after Washington withdrew from the agreement in May 2018.