(VOVWORLD) - Iran has agreed to “request to increase the frequency and intensity of the implementation of safeguards measures" at its Fordo nuclear enrichment plant (FFEP), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Friday in a confidential report.
 A nuclear power plant in southern Iran. (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
Previously, Iran announced it plans to increase production of highly enriched uranium at Fordo from 4.7 to 34 kg/month. The changes would "significantly increase the rate of production of uranium enriched up to 60%", IAEA said -- close to the 90% needed to make a nuclear weapon.
It is the only non-nuclear-weapon state enriching uranium to 60% purity, the agency added.
The IAEA said last week that Iran had revamped its Fordo enrichment plant in the south of Tehran. The agency called on Iran to conduct inspections urgently, while European powers pressed Tehran to "immediately halt its nuclear escalation".
Iran however, insists on its right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and has denied it is seeking a weapons capability.
Last month, Iran announced that it would launch "new and advanced" centrifuges in response to an IAEA board resolution that censured Tehran for its lack of cooperation with the agency.