BICOM

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog said in an interview published in the Washington Post today that Iran is ‘steadily’ producing enriched uranium. Yukia Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said he was concern that Iran might be pursuing military goals. ‘Iran is somehow producing uranium enriched to 3.5 percent and 20 percent. They are producing it steadily, constantly,’ Amano told the paper.

Iran is at loggerheads with the West over its nuclear programme, and the last round of talks between Tehran and the world powers broke down in Istanbul in January. Western powers, led by the United States, suspect Iran is masking a weapons drive under the guise of a civilian atomic programme, a charge the Islamic republic continues to deny. Amano’s statements reflect this concern. ‘We receive information from various countries and collect information from our own sources that give us concern over the possible use of nuclear materials for military purposes – in the past and perhaps now,’ Amano said.