The governments of Germany, France and Great Britain sharply condemned Iran’s steps to increase the production capacity of uranium enriched to 60% and called for an immediate end to the nuclear escalation, the German Foreign Ministry said.
⠀
“We, the governments of Germany, France and the UK, condemn Iran’s recent steps, reported by the IAEA, to further expand its nuclear program with the aim of significantly increasing the production of uranium enriched to 60% at the Fordo underground facility,” the German foreign policy agency said in a statement.
⠀
In addition, countries are concerned that Iran has increased the number of operating centrifuges and has begun preparing to install additional uranium enrichment infrastructure.
⠀
“We urge Iran to abandon these steps and immediately stop its nuclear escalation,” the German Foreign Ministry emphasized.
⠀
On Friday, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said in an interview with Reuters that Iran’s production capacity for uranium enriched to 60% was increasing sharply.
⠀
Iran used to produce about five to seven kilograms of such uranium per month, Grossi added. However, now the production capacity of uranium enriched to 60% can increase “seven, eight, and maybe many more times.” Earlier, the head of the IAEA reported that Iran had begun implementing preparatory measures aimed at stopping the increase in its stock of uranium enriched to 60%.
⠀
Negotiations on the nuclear program between Iran and the Eurotroika took place on November 29 in Geneva after a two-year break. Assistant to the Iranian Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Majid Takht-Ravanchi led the Iranian delegation at the negotiations. According to the Iranian government, they will continue in the near future. A week earlier, the anti-Iranian resolution of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), initiated by Great Britain, Germany, France and the United States, was adopted without taking into account the results of the business trip of the agency’s director general Rafael Grossi to Iran.
⠀
On November 14-15, Iran was visited by the Head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi. The purpose of his visit was negotiations with the country’s leadership and inspection of the Iranian nuclear program facilities in Fordo and Netenz for a subsequent decision on the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian Nuclear Program (JCPOA).
⠀
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, during negotiations with Grossi, said that Tehran has not created and will not create nuclear weapons.
⠀
In 2015, the UK, Germany, China, Russia, the US, France and Iran entered into a nuclear deal that included lifting sanctions in exchange for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program. Under the Trump presidency, the United States withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 and restored sanctions against Tehran. In response, Iran announced a gradual reduction in its obligations under the agreement, abandoning, in particular, restrictions on nuclear research and the level of uranium enrichment.
