No production or accumulation of high enriched uranium in Iran: IAEA chief

VIENNA -- No "production" or "accumulation" of high enriched uranium has been found by the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) inspectors in Iran, said Rafael Grossi, the agency's director general, on Monday.

Grossi made the statement on the sidelines of an IAEA Board of Governors meeting, following a report by Bloomberg on Feb 19 claiming that the IAEA inspectors in Iran had detected particles of uranium enriched to levels "just below that needed for a nuclear weapon".

Iranian authorities have rejected such reports in the past few days, underlining the peaceful goals of its nuclear program.

Addressing the IAEA Board of Governors earlier on Monday, Grossi confirmed that particles of uranium "well beyond the enrichment level declared by Iran" had been found at the Fordow plant in January. The agency and Iran have now initiated technical discussions to clarify this issue, he added.

Nevertheless, Grossi said at the press conference that "it is true that certain oscillations are possible in this type of cascade, so you may have readings higher than the expected levels from the operator."

The IAEA chief visited Tehran on Friday and Saturday, and met with high-level Iranian officials including the country's president Ebrahim Raisi.

According to a joint statement released after Grossi's visit, Iran has agreed to allow the United Nations nuclear watchdog to "implement further appropriate verification and monitoring activities", and the two sides have pledged to enhance cooperation to resolve the outstanding safeguards issues.