Iran has amassed even more near weapons-grade uranium, UN watchdog says

VIENNA AP Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels a confidential description by the U N nuclear watchdog revealed Saturday and called on Tehran to urgently change module and comply with the agency s probe The overview comes at a sensitive time as Tehran and Washington have been holding several rounds of talks over a doable nuclear deal that U S President Donald Trump is trying to reach The review by the Vienna-based International Atomic Resource Agency which was seen by The Associated Press says that as of May Iran has amassed kilograms pounds of uranium enriched up to That s an increase of kilograms pounds since the IAEA s last overview in February That material is a short technical step away from weapons-grade levels of A document in February put the stockpile at kilograms pounds The IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi has stressed repeatedly that Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state enriching to this level On Saturday Grossi revealed he reiterates his urgent call upon Iran to cooperate fully and effectively with the IAEA On Thursday senior Iranian administrators dismissed speculation about an imminent nuclear deal with the United States emphasizing that any agreement must fully lift sanctions and allow the country s nuclear plan to continue The comments came a day after Trump revealed he has notified Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off on striking Iran to give the U S administration more time to push for a new nuclear deal with Tehran Trump mentioned on Friday that he still thinks a deal could be completed in the not too distant future They don t want to be blown up They would rather make a deal Trump declared of Iran He added That would be a great thing that we could have a deal without bombs being dropped all over the Middle East Trump declared he s warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from carrying out preemptive strikes on Iran s nuclear undertaking while the talks are playing out The Associated Press receives advocacy for nuclear precaution coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation The AP is solely responsible for all content Additional AP coverage of the nuclear landscape https apnews com projects the-new-nuclear-landscape Source