IAEA Report: Iran Resolved Two Inquiries By Inspectors

A report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that Iran has resolved two outstanding inquiries of the Vienna-based UN atomic agency, The Associated Press reported on May 31.

The confidential quarterly report, which was seen by the news agency, said that IAEA inspectors no longer had questions on uranium particles found to be enriched to 83.7 percent at the country’s underground Fordow facility.

“The agency informed Iran that, following its evaluation of the data, the agency had assessed that the information provided was not inconsistent with Iran’s explanation...and that the agency had no further questions on this matter at this stage,” the report said.

In March, the United States and Europe's top powers expressed alarm after the UN watchdog found uranium particles enriched to up to 83.7 percent at Fordow -- close to weapons grade.

The IAEA report said investigators also closed off their investigation of traces of man-made uranium found at Marivan, near the city of Abadeh. 

Analysts have repeatedly linked the site to Iran’s secret military nuclear program and accused Iran of conducting high-explosives tests there in the early 2000s.

Iran argued the uranium traces could have come from “laboratory instruments and equipment” used by miners at the site.

The IAEA report called this “a possible explanation.” It said that “another member state” operated a mine in the area in the 1960s and 1970s. It wasn’t immediately clear which country was involved in the mining.

The report comes as tensions between Iran and the West have escalated over its nuclear program. 

Iran’s 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers eased international economic sanctions in exchange for limits on Tehran's nuclear program.

But the United States withdrew from the deal in 2018 and began reinstating sanctions on Tehran. In response, the Islamic Republic has violated terms of the pact, which limited Tehran’s uranium stockpile to 300 kilograms and enrichment to 3.67 percent. 

The IAEA report estimated that as of May 13, Iran’s total enriched uranium stockpile was at 4,744.5 kilograms. Of that, 114.1 kilograms is enriched up to 60 percent purity.