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Iran’s nuclear leap ‘extremely serious’, says Western source

REUTERS
Monday, Dec 09, 2024

PARIS: Iran’s acceleration in its enrichment of uranium to close to bomb grade is “extremely serious”, has no civilian justification and contradicts Tehran’s assertions on wanting serious nuclear negotiations, a Western diplomatic source said on Sunday.

Iran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons.

Its foreign ministry said on Sunday that Tehran’s nuclear programme is under continuous supervision of the UN nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The Western diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the acceleration of enrichment was “in contradiction with Iran’s declarations on its willingness to return to credible negotiations”.

“These measures have no credible civilian justification and could, on the contrary, directly fuel a military nuclear programme if Iran were to take the decision,” the source said.