The International Atomic Energy Agency issued a report Wednesday that showed that Iran has in fact scaled back on its uranium stockpile, as part of the negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program.
The report, obtained by Reuters, said that more than four tons of the enriched uranium had been fed into a pipeline that ends with conversion of it into oxide, which is much less likely to be used to make atomic weapons.
Low-enriched uranium is needed for obtaining an atomic weapon as well as a fuel for civil nuclear reactors. The IAEA and the world powers aim at keeping the material at levels that would not be enough for a nuclear weapon.
An interim agreement in November capped Iran's low-enriched uranium stockpile at 7.6 tons. The IAEA report said that stockpile was just under that level as of Tuesday, meaning that Iran has kept its end of the deal so far.
I recognize our negotiators as trustworthy, committed, brave and faithful. #IranTalks https://t.co/gj5IMikjL7 pic.twitter.com/MTCWJi41K0
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir)
June 30, 201
Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations atomic watchdog was heading to Tehran Wednesday upon an invitation by the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
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The head of IAEA Yukiya Amano is due in Tehran to meet the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, as world powers and Iran are intensifying their negotiations over a historic nuclear deal that would see the Iranian nuclear program limited to civil power.
IAEA Amano to meet senior officials in #Iran to discuss how to accelerate resolution of oustanding issues #IranTalks https://t.co/ff6c918RkK
— IAEA (@iaeaorg)
July 1, 201
In a statement, the IAEA said the talks were expected to focus on addressing “ongoing cooperation” between the nuclear watchdog and Iran and how to “accelerate the resolution of all outstanding issues related to Iran’s nuclear program.”
This comes days after Iran, the United States and five world powers involved in the talks agreed to extend the self-imposed deadline for a comprehensive deal, which was due on June 30, until July 7.
"We are working very, very hard and we have some very difficult issues," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday after meeting his Iranian counterpart Zarif for the second time this week.
Sat down w/ @JZarif this AM after his return to Vienna. Will meet later today w/ Russian FM Lavrov. #IranTalksVienna pic.twitter.com/R3Lo3srDvq
— John Kerry (@JohnKerry)
June 30, 2015
"But we believe we're making progress and we're going to continue to work because of that," he told reporters in Vienna, where the final stage of the almost two-years long Iran nuclear talks are taking place.
Iran has maintained that no agreement would be reached unless painful sanctions were lifted. Iran said Wednesday it had recovered 13 tons of its gold reserves frozen in South Africa under international sanctions as part of a compromise on the sidelines of the Vienna talks.
Iran will be committed to the #nuclear agreement if & only if our counterparts show the same level of commitment. #IranTalksVienna #Loyalty
— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani)
June 30, 201