France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States have jointly condemned the recent finding by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the secret modification of nuclear facilities in Iran for the production of highly enriched uranium and accuse the Iranian government of raising the risk of nuclear proliferation.
In a joint statement, the governments of the four countries have argued that the change «is incompatible» with Iran’s obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, recalling that the production of highly enriched uranium carries significant proliferation risks.
«These centrifuges produce highly enriched uranium up to 60 percent and are located at the Fordo enrichment plant,» the Western countries have recalled, asserting that development by Iran «has no credible civilian justification.»
In this regard, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States have stated that the lack of notifications undermines the IAEA’s ability to maintain «timely detection at Iran’s nuclear facilities».
«The recently reported change in the configuration of centrifuge cascades used to produce near-weapons-grade uranium underscores the need for Iran to comply with all of its safeguards reporting obligations and to accept any safeguards monitoring by the IAEA that it deems necessary,» the joint missive reads.
In addition, the countries have argued that Iran’s actions are «of even greater concern» as it would have halted implementation of its commitments on transparency and verification under the international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program signed in 2015.
«We call on Iran to comply with all its legally binding international obligations under its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA and to cooperate fully with the Agency in the implementation of effective safeguards at Fordo,» the four states have called on Iran.
The IAEA found an unannounced HEU production facility at the Fordo village nuclear facility, south of Tehran, where enrichment machines had been «significantly» modified since November.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
