IAEA concerned over undeclared Iran sites

VIENNA: The UN nuclear watchdog Monday voiced concern Iran had not clarified queries over sites where undeclared nuclear activity may have occurred and reported Tehran’s enriched uranium stockpile was around 16 times the limit laid out in a 2015 deal.

A report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said director general Rafael Grossi was "concerned that the technical discussions between the agency and Iran have not yielded the expected results," referring to exchanges on the sites with Iranian officials.

In a separate report, the agency said Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium is around 16 times the limit laid down in the 2015 deal with world powers. It gave an estimate of a stockpile of 3,241 kg (7,145 pounds) but cautioned that it was not able to verify the total.

The limit laid down in the deal was 300 kilogrammes of uranium in a particular compound form, the equivalent of 202.8 kilogrammes of uranium.

The latest report will be presented to the IAEA's board of governors next week and comes as talks are ongoing in Vienna on the possible full revival of the 2015 deal and the return of the US to the accord. Former President Donald Trump dramatically withdrew from the deal in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions on Iran.