Iran slams UN nuclear watchdog chief after centrifuge report

TEHRAN: Iran slammed UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi after the agency raised concerns over covert changes to equipment at its Fordo uranium enrichment plant, state media said on Saturday.

The criticism of Grossi comes after the International Atomic Energy Agency director-general said he plans to visit Tehran in February for talks on getting it to increase cooperation over its activities, amid stalled negotiations to revive a landmark deal over Iran’s nuclear programme.

The IAEA said in a confidential report on Wednesday that Iran had substantially modified an interconnection between two centrifuge clusters enriching uranium to up to 60 percent at Fordo Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), without giving prior notice.

Iran said later an inspector had “inadvertently” reported the changes, and that Grossi had issued the report despite the matter being resolved — a response that the United States and its allies criticised as “inadequate”.

“We gave a letter to the agency that an inspector... made a mistake and gave an incorrect report,” Mohamad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, was quoted as saying by a state news agency.

“But yet again the director-general of the agency released this issue to the media,” he said, labelling it “unprofessional and unacceptable” behaviour.

“We hope that this practice will not be continued... because this is not acceptable for his reputation and the agency.”

The IAEA had said that during an unannounced Fordo inspection on January 21, it found “two IR-6 centrifuge cascades... were interconnected in a way that was substantially different from the mode of operation declared by Iran to the agency”. Since late last year.