VIENNA: The UN nuclear watchdog confirmed on Tuesday it had detected particles of uranium enriched to 83.7 per cent in Iran, just under the 90pc needed to produce an atomic bomb.

Asked about the particles found in Iran, the government in Tehran said “unintended fluctuations” during the enrichment process “may have occurred”.

In 2015, Iran reached a deal with world powers to limit the enrichment of uranium and allow IAEA ins­pectors to visit its nuclear sites, in return for the lifting of economic sanctions. But the deal stalled in 2018.

The IAEA report said that during an inspection “on 22 January 2023, the agency took environmental samples… at the Fordow (sic) plant, the analytical results of which showed the presence of high enriched uranium particles containing up to 83.7pc U-235”.

“These events clearly indicate the capability of the agency to detect and report in a timely manner changes in the operation of nuclear facilities in Iran,” it continued.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2023