Tehran is disputing a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency that it changed its uranium enrichment operation at the Fordo plant without notifying IAEA.
The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mohamad Eslami, told IAEA in a letter that the inspector who made a surprise check on the plant on 21 January made a mistake and gave a wrong report.
Eslami also criticized the IAEA director general for releasing the inspector’s alleged wrong report to the media, calling the act “unprofessional and unacceptable” behavior.
The IAEA inspector reportedly found that “two IR-6 centrifuge cascades… were interconnected in a way that was substantially different from the mode of operation declared by Iran to the agency.”
Since late last year, the two cascades had been used to produce uranium enriched to up to 60 percent, the report to member states added.
In the report, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi expressed concern that Iran had “implemented a substantial change in the design information of the Fordo Fuel Enrichment Plant in relation to the production of high enriched uranium without informing the agency in advance.”
In a statement on Friday, the United States, Britain, France and Germany said Iran’s response to the report was “inadequate.”
“Iranian claims that this action was carried out in error are inadequate,” they said.
“We judge Iran’s actions based on the impartial and objective reports of the IAEA, not Iran’s purported intent.”
The IAEA chief noted the “big, big impasse” on the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
The deal with world powers collapsed after the United States withdrew from it in 2018 under former president Donald Trump.
Negotiations that started in April 2021 to revive the agreement have since stalled.
WITH AFP