TEHRAN: The UN nuclear chief on Friday toured two Iranian uranium enrichment plants that have been the focus of Western concern after Tehran said it was ready to address “doubts” about its ambitions.

The visit to Iran by International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi comes after he warned “the margins for manoeuvre are beginning to shrink” over its nuclear programme.

On Friday, Grossi visited the Natanz and Fordo enrichment plants in central Iran, the official IRNA news agency reported.

He was accompanied by Iran’s atomic energy organisation spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi.

Neither the Trump transition team nor Iran’s mission to the United Nations immediately confirmed the encounter with ambassador Saeed Iravani. The Iranian mission said it had no comment.

During his first term in the White House, Trump unilaterally abandoned a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers and reimposed blistering economic sanctions in a policy of “maximum pressure”.

Tehran eventually responded by rolling back its own commitments under the deal, which barred it from enriching uranium to above 3.65 per cent.

The IAEA says Iran has significantly expanded its stocks of uranium enriched to 60 per cent, a level that has triggered international alarm as it is much closer to the 90 per cent level needed for a nuclear warhead.

Iran is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium to 60 per cent, according to the UN agency.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2024