Iran Speeding up enrichment Of uranium to near weapons grade

MANAMA/VIENNA - Iran is "dramatically" accelerating its enrichment of uranium to up to 60 percent purity, close to the roughly 90 percent level that is weapons grade, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told Reuters on Dec 6.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) later confirmed in a confidential report to member states that Iran was speeding up uranium enrichment - a process that refines the raw material so that it can be used as fuel in civil nuclear power generation or, potentially, nuclear weapons.

The IAEA findings will deepen alarm in Western countries that say there is no justification for enriching uranium to such a high level under any civilian programme and that no other country has done so without producing nuclear bombs.

Iran denies pursuing nuclear weapons.

Tehran already has enough material enriched to up to 60 percent purity to be able to make four nuclear weapons if it enriches it further, according to an IAEA yardstick.

"Today, the agency is announcing that the production capacity is increasing dramatically of the 60 percent inventory," Mr Grossi said on the sidelines of the Manama Dialogue security conference in Bahrain.

He said Iran's production capacity was set to rise to "seven, eight times more maybe, or even more" than the current level of 5kg to 7kg of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent purity a month.