The governments of the US, France, UK and Germany on Thursday condemned the Islamic Republic of Iran’s acceleration of highly enriched uranium production, highlighted in a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tuesday.

“We condemn this measure, which further exacerbates the continued escalation of Iran’s nuclear energy program,” they said in a joint statement released by the State Department, saying “there is no credible justification for Iran’s production of highly enriched uranium.” .

According to the UN agency’s report, Tehran “increased production of highly enriched uranium in recent weeks, and had slowed the pace by mid-2023.”

“These findings are a step in the wrong direction on the part of Iran, resulting in a tripling of its monthly production of enriched uranium up to 60%,” Washington, Paris, London and Berlin pointed out, expressing concern over “high proliferation risks.”

“These decisions show Iran’s lack of will to proceed with de-escalation in good faith and constitute irresponsible behavior against the backdrop of regional tensions,” they added, demanding that Tehran “cooperate fully with the IAEA.”

For its part, Iran emphasized yesterday Wednesday that there is “nothing new” in the IAEA report. “We produce the same percentage of 60% enriched uranium. We have not changed anything and we have not developed new capabilities,” the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, said, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Iran is now enriching uranium to levels that have nothing to do with the supposed ceiling set at 3.67% under the 2015 international agreement that framed Tehran’s nuclear activities, approaching the 90% required to produce material capable of being fitted to an atomic bomb. However, he always denies that he is seeking to acquire a nuclear arsenal.

The 60%-enriched uranium production slowdown identified by the IAEA a few months ago had been seen as a goodwill gesture by experts as talks resumed with the US to bring all parties back into full compliance with the 2015 deal. , officially of the Joint Integrated Action Plan (JCPOA).

The deal is clinically dead after Washington pulled out in 2018 at the behest of then-US President Donald Trump. His successor, Joe Biden, attempted to revive it through close talks in Vienna, but they stalled in the summer of 2022.

The atmosphere has become increasingly hostile in recent months, especially since the outbreak of the Israel/Hamas war, which Washington and Tehran accuse each other of worsening.

The Islamic Republic has ruled out resuming visits by IAEA inspectors and has shut down cameras necessary to monitor its nuclear program.