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Saudi Arabia’s crown prince sets off on tour of Gulf Arab states

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Formula One F1- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – December 5, 2021 Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is seen before the race Pool via REUTERS/Andrej Isakovic

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DUBAI, Dec 6 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman set off on a tour of fellow Gulf Arab states on Monday ahead of a Gulf summit this month amid crucial talks aimed at salvaging a nuclear pact between Iran and the West.

Prince Mohammed will visit Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait, Saudi state news agency SPA reported. Oman will be the first leg of the tour.

It will be the crown prince’s first trip to Qatar since Riyadh and its Arab allies imposed an embargo on Doha in mid-2017 in a row that was only resolved last January.

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Al Arabiya said the summit of Gulf Arab leaders would be held in the Saudi capital Riyadh in mid-December.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have engaged with long-time foe Iran in a bid to contain regional tensions as indirect talks between Washington and Tehran to revive the nuclear pact drag.

In the latest round of talks in Vienna last week, Western powers questioned Iran’s determination to salvage the 2015 agreement, which Gulf states saw as flawed for not addressing Tehran’s missiles programme and network of regional proxies.

Then-President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the pact in 2018 and reimposed U.S. sanctions, prompting Iran to begin violating nuclear restrictions. Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons.

Prince Mohammed starts his regional tour on the same day that the UAE’s top national security adviser is expected to visit Iran.

Sunni Muslim power Saudi Arabia in April launched direct talks with Shi’ite Iran, with which it is locked in several proxy conflicts in the Middle East. Riyadh has described the discussions, held in Iraq, as largely exploratory.

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Writing by Ghaida Ghantous and Alexander Cornwell; editing by Richard Pullin, Lincoln Feast and Nick Macfie

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U.S. and Iran pessimistic about reviving nuclear deal

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The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria May 23, 2021. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger//File Photo

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  • U.S. says can judge in a day or so if Iran acting in good faith
  • Not ‘a lot of cause for … optimism,’ U.S.’s Blinken says
  • Iran questions U.S., European intention to salvage deal
  • ‘We want all sanctions to be lifted at once,’ Iranian negotiator

VIENNA/STOCKHOLM, Dec 2 (Reuters) – The United States and Iran both sounded pessimistic on Thursday about the chances of reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, with Washington saying it had little cause for optimism and Tehran questioning the determination of U.S. and European negotiators.

“I have to tell you, recent moves, recent rhetoric, don’t give us a lot of cause for … optimism,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Stockholm, saying he could judge in a day or so if Iran would engage in good faith.

Blinken made the comments after Iran provided the European powers who are shuttling between U.S. and Iranian officials in Vienna with drafts on sanctions removal and nuclear commitments, as world powers and Tehran seek to reinstate the tattered pact.

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“We went to Vienna with serious determination, but we are not optimistic about the will and the intention of ⁧‫the United States ⁩and the three European parties to the deal,” Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian was quoted by Iranian media as saying in a telephone conversation with his Japanese counterpart.

While Blinken said “it is not too late for Iran to reverse course and engage meaningfully,” it appeared as if both sides might be seeking to avoid the blame if the talks break down.

The comments came on the fourth day of indirect U.S.-Iran talks on bringing both nations fully back into the deal, under which Iran limited its nuclear program in return for relief from U.S., European Union and U.N. economic sanctions.

Talks resumed on Monday after a five-month hiatus prompted by Iran’s election of an anti-Western hardliner as president.

“The blame game has been ongoing, to a certain extent, and is going to continue,” said Eurasia Group analyst Henry Rome, adding that even if the talks break down this week all sides have an interest in keeping the conversation going for now and there may be another round later this year or early next.

“Part of it is blame game, part of it is really wanting, at least from the Western side, to be sure to exhaust all options,” Rome said.

Keeping the talks going may also help Iran in “prolonging the period before I think there will very likely be a shift toward a more coercive Western position” and also provide some cover to advance their nuclear program, he said.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday that Iran has started producing enriched uranium with advanced centrifuges at its Fordow plant dug into a mountain, further eroding the nuclear deal. read more

It was unclear whether Blinken had been briefed on the latest proposals by the Iranians when he made his pessimistic comments.

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani said Iran had delivered two proposed drafts to the Europeans, one on sanctions removal and the other on nuclear limitations.

“We want all sanctions to be lifted at once,” Bagheri told reporters in Vienna, outlining a position unlikely to be warmly welcomed by the West, which has sought some kind of sequence under which Iran would return to the pact’s nuclear limits.

He said an Iranian proposal on how to verify the removal of sanctions – Tehran’s overriding priority in the talks – would be given to the European parties later.

Under the pact, Tehran limited its uranium enrichment programme, a potential pathway to nuclear weapons though Iran says it seeks only civilian atomic energy, in exchange for relief from the economic sanctions.

But in 2018, then-U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the deal, calling it too soft on Iran, and reimposed harsh U.S. sanctions, spurring Tehran to breach nuclear limits in the pact.

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Reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Vienna and Humeyra Pamuk in Stockholm; Additional reporting by Francois Murphy in Vienna and by Doina Chiacu and Simon Lewis in Washington; Writing by Parisa Hafezi and Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Peter Graff, Mark Heinrich, Marguerita Choy and Daniel Wallis

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Pentagon chief seeks to reassure concerned Middle East allies

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U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin attends a NATO Defence Ministers meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, October 21, 2021. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo

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MANAMA, Nov 20 (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sought on Saturday to reassure allies in the Middle East that President Joe Biden’s administration was committed to the region despite Washington increasingly turning its attention towards countering China.

It was unclear how much impact Austin’s speech would have with Washington’s allies in the Middle East, since it was not backed by any announcements of further deployments or new weapon sales in the region.

Gulf Arab states, heavily reliant on the U.S. military umbrella, have expressed uncertainty about Biden’s focus on the region, especially after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. They are now closely watching efforts to revive a global-powers nuclear pact with Iran.

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In a speech in Bahrain during a trip to the Gulf, Austin acknowledged concern in the region and globally that the United States was solely focussed on China’s challenge.

“Let’s be clear: America’s commitment to security in the Middle East is strong and sure,” Austin said.

He said the United States was committed to countering Iran, even as Washington works to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

“We remain committed to a diplomatic outcome of the nuclear issue. But if Iran isn’t willing to engage seriously, then we will look at all the options necessary to keep the United States secure,” Austin said.

The Pentagon chief said that Washington would be coming to the indirect negotiations on reviving the deal starting on Nov. 29 in Vienna in good faith.

“But Iran’s actions in recent months have not been encouraging – especially because of the expansion of their nuclear programme,” he Austin said.

Gulf states have asked for any deal to address what they call Iran’s ballistic missile programme and destabilising behaviour in the region.

‘IMPENDING AMERICAN ABANDONMENT’?

While a number of U.S. administrations have tried to move the focus away from the Middle East and towards the Pacific, Biden in August ended the longest U.S. war, in Afghanistan.

“There’s dismay that the United States is on its way out the door. I’m not sure messaging addresses that sense of impending American abandonment,” said Jon Alterman of the Washington CSIS think-tank.

A senior U.S. defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Austin was not expected to make new commitments in the region during his trip.

Saudi Arabia, one of Washington’s closest regional allies, has been frustrated by the approach of Biden’s White House, which has pressed Riyadh to improve its human rights record and end the war in Yemen.

Former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal, attending the Manama security forum, welcomed verbal assurances but said “demonstrative actions are equally important”.

He cited the need to prevent Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis from obtaining arms. Washington is pressing Riyadh to lift a coalition blockade on Houthi-held areas, a condition from the group for ceasefire talks.

Austin was set to visit Saudi Arabia in September but the trip was postponed at the last minute. He will not be visiting Riyadh on this trip.

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Reporting by Idrees Ali; Additional reporting by Alexander Cornwell and Ghaida Ghantous in Dubai; Editing by William Mallard and David Clarke

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Biden vows to stand with SE Asia in defending freedom of seas, democracy

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  • Biden pledges to defend freedom of the seas
  • U.S. concerned by China’s “coercive and proactive actions” across Taiwan Strait
  • China’s Premier Li says upholding peace in South China Sea in everyone’s interest

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Oct 27 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden said on Wednesday the United States would stand with Southeast Asian allies in defending freedom of the seas, democracy and human rights and backed efforts to hold the Myanmar junta accountable to its commitments to peace.

Southeast Asia has become a strategic battleground between the United States and China, which controls most of the South China Sea and has turned up military and political pressure on fiercely democratic Taiwan, a self-ruled island it considers its own.

Australia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed on Wednesday at a virtual regional summit to establish a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, a sign of Canberra’s ambition to play a bigger role in the region.

Biden joined Southeast Asian leaders in rebuking Myanmar’s junta as the summit opened on Tuesday without a representative from the country following its top general’s exclusion for ignoring peace proposals.

“In Myanmar, we must address the tragedy caused by the military coup which is increasingly undermining regional stability,” Biden said on Wednesday.

“The United States stands for the people of Myanmar and calls for military regime to end the violence, release all political prisoners and return to the path of democracy.”

He also said the United States was deeply concerned by “China’s coercive and proactive actions” across the Taiwan Strait, a waterway linking the island and the mainland.

Tensions between Taiwan and China have escalated in recent weeks as Beijing raises military and political pressure.

That has included repeated missions by Chinese warplanes in Taiwan’s air defence identification zone, or ADIZ, which covers a broader area than Taiwan’s territorial air space which Taiwan monitors and patrols to give it more time to respond to any threats.

China has never renounced the use of force to ensure eventual unification with Taiwan.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told the summit upholding peace, stability, freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea was in everyone’s interest.

“The South China Sea is our common home,” he said.

REGIONAL ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK

Biden also said he would speak out for “human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet (and) the rights of the people of Hong Kong”.

China denies human rights abuses in farwestern Xinjiang and the Himalayan region of Tibet. It also denies meddling with freedoms in the former British colony of Hong Kong.

Biden also announced discussions with partners in the IndoPacific region would start to develop a framework “that will position all of our economies for the future”.

“We look forward to working together with digital economy standards on infrastructure and regional connectivity, on supply chain resilience and anti-corruption and worker standards and so much more,” he said

Critics of U.S. strategy for the region point to its lack of an economic component after former President Donald Trump withdrew from the trade deal now known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2017.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters he had stressed in Wednesday’s meetings his country’s resolute stance on “urgent regional situations”, including the East and South China Seas, North Korea and Myanmar.

“I also mentioned human rights situations in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, as well as the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan strait,” he said.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Australia-ASEAN pact would strengthen diplomatic and security ties and promised Canberra would “back it with substance”.

“This milestone underscores Australia’s commitment to ASEAN’s central role in the Indo-Pacific and positions our partnership for the future,” he said in a joint statement with Foreign Minister Marise Payne.

Brunei, serving as chair of ASEAN, said the agreement “marked a new chapter in relations.”

After the announcement, Australia said it would invest $154 million in projects in Southeast Asia on health and energy security, counter-terrorism, fighting transnational crime, plus hundreds of scholarships.

China has sought a similar agreement with ASEAN. Premier Li met ASEAN leaders on Tuesday, and the bloc’s leaders will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in November at a virtual summit, two diplomatic sources told Reuters.

Morrison sought to reassure ASEAN that a trilateral security pact agreed last month between the United States, Britain and Australia, under which Australia will get access to nuclear-powered submarines, would not be a threat to the region.

Reporting by Ain Bandial in Bandar Seri Begawan and Tom Allard in Sydney; Additional reporting by Stanley Widianto in Jakarta; Kiyoshi Takenaka in Tokyo, Colin Packham in Canberra, David Brunnstrom in Washington and Neil Jerome Morales in Manila; Writing by Martin Petty and Nick Macfie; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore, Jon Boyle and Sonya Hepinstall

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NATO to agree master plan to deter growing Russian threat

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  • Prepares for simultaneous attacks including nuclear and cyber
  • Officials and diplomats say no such attack is imminent
  • Russia denies any war-like intentions

BRUSSELS, Oct 21 (Reuters) – NATO defence ministers are set to agree a new master plan on Thursday to defend against any potential Russian attack on multiple fronts, reaffirming the alliance’s core goal of deterring Moscow despite a growing focus on China.

The confidential strategy aims to prepare for any simultaneous attack in the Baltic and Black Sea regions that could include nuclear weapons, hacking of computer networks and assaults from space.

“It recognises a more 21st century threat and how to deal with it,” British defence minister Ben Wallace told reporters.

Officials stress that they do not believe any Russian attack is imminent. Moscow denies any aggressive intentions and says it is NATO that risks destabilising Europe with such preparations.

But diplomats say the “Concept for Deterrence and Defence in the Euro-Atlantic Area” – and its strategic implementation plan – is needed as Russia develops advanced weapon systems and deploys troops and equipment closer to the allies’ borders.

“This is the way of deterrence,” German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said of the plan.

“And this is being adapted to the current behaviour of Russia – and we are seeing violations particularly of the air space over the Baltic states, but also increasing incursions over the Black Sea,” she told German radio Deutschlandfunk.

Approval will allow for more detailed regional plans by the end of 2022, a U.S. official said, allowing NATO to decide what additional weapons it needs and how to position its forces.

FLASHPOINTS

In May, Russia amassed some 100,000 troops on its border with Ukraine, the highest number since Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014, Western officials say. In September, Russia used new combat robots in large military drills with its ex-Soviet ally Belarus that have alarmed Baltic allies.

With Russia upgrading or replacing Soviet military space systems to potentially attack satellites in orbit, developing artificial intelligence-based technologies to disrupt allied command systems, Moscow is also developing “super weapons”.

Unveiled in 2018, they include nuclear-capable hypersonic cruise missiles that could evade early-warning systems.

Retired U.S. General Ben Hodges, who commanded U.S. army forces in Europe from 2014 until 2017, said he hoped the plan would foster greater coherence in NATO’s collective defence, meaning more resources for the Black Sea region.

“To me, this is the more likely flashpoint than the Baltics,” Hodges told Reuters, noting fewer big allies such as Britain and France have a strong presence in the Black Sea, and Turkey is more focused on conflict in Syria.

Jamie Shea, a former senior NATO official now at the Friends of Europe think-tank in Brussels, said the plan might also help to cement a focus on Russia at a time when major allies are seeking to boost their presence in the Indo-Pacific and counter China’s rising military power.

“The assumption up until now has been that Russia is a nuisance but not an imminent threat. But the Russians are doing some worrying things. They’re practising with robotics, and hypersonic cruise missiles could be very disruptive indeed,” Shea said.

Reporting by Robin Emmott;
Editing by Alison Williams and Gareth Jones

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North Korea accuses U.N. of double standards over missile tests, warns of consequences

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SEOUL, Oct 3 (Reuters) – North Korea said on Sunday the United Nations Security Council applied double standards over military activities among U.N. member states, state media KCNA said, amid international criticism over its recent missile tests.

The Council met behind closed doors on Friday upon requests from the United States and other countries over the North’s missile launches.

The meeting came a day after Pyongyang fired a newly developed anti-aircraft missile, the latest in a recent series of weapons tests including the launches of a previously unseen hypersonic missile, ballistic missiles and a cruise missile with potential nuclear capabilities.

Jo Chol Su, director of the North Korean foreign ministry’s Department of International Organisations, said the Security Council meeting means an “open ignorance of and wanton encroachment” on its sovereignty and “serious intolerable provocation.”

Jo accused the Council of double standards as it remains silent about U.S. joint military exercises and weapons tests with allies, while taking issue with the North’s “self-defensive” activities.

“This is a denial of impartiality, objectivity and equilibrium, lifelines of the U.N. activities, and an evident manifestation of double-dealing standard,” Jo said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.

A newly developed anti-aircraft missile is seen during a test conducted by the Academy of Defence Science, in this undated photo released on October 1, 2021 by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERS

Jo warned the council could face consequences if it continues to breach the North’s sovereignty “with the double-dealing stick” and rely on “the U.S.-style brigandish way of thinking and judgment.”

Pyongyang has said in recent weeks that its weapons tests are aimed at boosting its defence capabilities just as other countries do, accusing Washington and Seoul of “double standards” and “hostile policy” toward it.

The tests underscored how the reclusive state has been constantly developing increasingly sophisticated weapons, raising the stakes for stalled talks aimed at dismantling its nuclear and missile programmes in return for U.S. sanctions relief.

The United States has criticised the launches as “destabilising” and posing regional threats, but said it has no hostile intent toward North Korea, urging it to accept offers to resume negotiations.

White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Friday that Washington remained ready to discuss a “full range of issues.”

“We’ve made specific proposals for discussions with the North Koreans, but have not received a response to date,” she told reporters.

Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by William Mallard and Michael Perry

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Iran to allow IAEA to service nuclear monitoring cameras after talks

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  • IAEA chief Rafael Grossi held talks with Iranian atomic body
  • IAEA said this week it wanted urgent access to monitoring equipment
  • Iran agrees to replacement of the memory cards of IAEA cameras
  • IAEA member states may issue resolution critical of Iran that could jeopardise talks

DUBAI, Sept 12 (Reuters) – Iran is to allow the U.N. nuclear watchdog to service monitoring cameras at Iranian nuclear sites after talks on Sunday with IAEA head Rafael Grossi, according to the head of Iran’s atomic energy body and a joint statement.

The talks with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Grossi were aimed at easing a standoff between Tehran and the West just as it threatens to escalate and scupper negotiations on reviving the Iran nuclear deal.

The IAEA said this week that there had been no progress on two key issues: explaining uranium traces found at old, undeclared sites and getting urgent access to monitoring equipment so the agency can continue to keep track of parts of Iran’s nuclear programme as per the 2015 deal.

“We agreed over the replacement of the memory cards of the

agency’s cameras,” Mohammad Eslami, who heads the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), was quoted as saying by state media.

“IAEA’s inspectors are permitted to service the identified equipment and replace their storage media which will be kept under the joint IAEA and AEOI seals in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the nuclear bodies said in a joint statement.

Grossi is expected to hold a news conference at Vienna airport around 8:30 p.m. (1830 GMT) after returning later on Sunday, the IAEA said.

The IAEA told member states in reports this week that there had been no progress on two central issues: explaining uranium traces found at several old, undeclared sites and getting urgent access to some monitoring equipment so the agency can continue to keep track of parts of Iran’s nuclear programme as provided for by the 2015 deal. read more

“These reports were the official stamp on what we have been saying for a long time already: The Iranians are advancing unobstructed on the nuclear (weapon) project,” Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in televised remarks on Sunday. Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful.

Separate, indirect talks between the United States and Iran on both returning to compliance with the deal have been halted since June. Washington and its European allies have been urging hardline President Ebrahim Raisi’s administration, which took office in August, to return to the talks.

Under the 2015 deal between Iran and major powers, Tehran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.

President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the deal in 2018, re-introducing painful economic sanctions. Iran responded as of 2019 by breaching many of the deal’s core restrictions, like enriching uranium to a higher purity which makes it closer to that suitable for use in nuclear weapons.

Western powers must decide whether to push for a resolution criticising Iran and raising pressure on it for stonewalling the IAEA at next week’s meeting of the agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors. A resolution could jeopardise the resumption of talks on the deal as Tehran bristles at such moves. read more

Countries on the IAEA Board of Governors have watched Grossi’s visit to see whether Iran yields either on granting access to the monitoring equipment to service it or offers the prospect of answers on the uranium particles found at the undeclared former sites.

Reporting by Dubai newsroom, additional reporting by Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky

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N.Korea’s Kim calls for relief campaign in rain-hit areas

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a Report on Enlarged Meeting of the 2nd Political Bureau of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, in Pyongyang, North Korea in this image released July 5, 2021 by the country’s Korean Central News Agency. KCNA via REUTERS

SEOUL, Aug 8 (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has mobilised the military to carry out relief work in areas recently hit by heavy rains, state media said on Sunday, amid concerns over an economic crisis and food shortage.

The ruling Worker’s Party’s Central Military Commission held a meeting of its chapter in the eastern province of South Hamgyong to discuss damage and recovery from the downpour, the official KCNA news agency said.

Kim did not attend the meeting but party officials conveyed his message that the military should kick off a relief campaign and provide necessary supplies in the region, KCNA said.

“It was also emphasised that he called for awakening and arousing the (party) officials…into waging the recovery campaign skilfully and unyieldingly,” KCNA said.

KCNA did not specify the extent of rain damage but said the military commission explored emergency measures to rebuild the disaster-stricken areas, stabilise people’s living, prevent the coronavirus and minimise crop injuries.

The meeting came amid concerns over a crisis in a reclusive economy that has already been dogged by international sanctions, aimed at curbing its nuclear and weapons programmes.

Kim said in June the country faced a “tense” food situation, citing the coronavirus pandemic and last year’s typhoons, and recently South Korea’s central bank said North Korea’s economy suffered its biggest contraction in 23 years in 2020. read more

North Korea has not confirmed any COVID-19 cases but closed borders, halted trade and imposed strict prevention measures, seeing the pandemic as an issue of national survival. read more

South Korean lawmakers said last week that North Korea needed some 1 million tonnes of rice, with military and emergency reserves running out. read more

Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Sam Holmes

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Iran begins process of making enriched uranium metal; U.S., E3 dismayed

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VIENNA/WASHINGTON, July 6 (Reuters) – Iran has begun the process ofproducing enriched uranium metal, the U.N. atomic watchdog said on Tuesday, a move that could help it develop a nuclear weapon and that three European powers said threatened talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Iran’s steps, which were disclosed by the International Atomic Energy Agency and which Tehran said were aimed at developing fuel for a research reactor, also drew criticism from the United States, which called them an “unfortunate step backwards.”

U.S. and European officials made clear that Iran’s decision would complicate, and potentially torpedo, indirect U.S.-Iranian talks seeking to bring both nations back into compliance with the 2015 deal, which was abandoned by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

The deal imposed curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme to make it harder for Tehran to develop fissile material for nuclear weapons in return for the lifting of economic sanctions. After Trump withdrew, Iran began violating many of its restrictions.

Tehran has already produced a small amount of uranium metal this year that was not enriched. That is a breach of the deal, which bans all work on uranium metal since it can be used to make the core of a nuclear bomb. read more

“Today, Iran informed the Agency that UO2 (uranium oxide) enriched up to 20% U–235 would be shipped to the R&D laboratory at the Fuel Fabrication Plant in Esfahan, where it would be converted to UF4 (uranium tetrafluoride) and then to uranium metal enriched to 20% U–235, before using it to manufacture the fuel,” an IAEA statement said.

A confidential IAEA report seen by Reuters said the agency had confirmed that Iran had taken the second of the four steps described, making clear it has begun the process.

Britain, France and Germany said on Tuesday they had “grave concern” about Iran’s decision, which violates the nuclear deal formally named the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). read more

“Iran has no credible civilian need for uranium metal R&D and production, which are a key step in the development of a nuclear weapon,” they said in a joint statement issued by Britain’s foreign ministry.

“With its latest steps, Iran is threatening a successful outcome to the Vienna talks despite the progress achieved in six rounds of negotiations,” they said, and urged Iran to return to the talks, which began in April and adjourned on June 20. No date has been set for a next round.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Washington was not setting a deadline for the talks but noted “that as time proceeds Iran’s nuclear advances will have a bearing on our view of returning to the JCPOA.”

Price said the United States found it “worrying” that Iran was continuing to violate the agreement “especially with experiments that have value for nuclear weapons research.

“It’s another unfortunate step backwards for Iran,” he said.

Reporting by Francois Murphy in Vienna and by Humeyra Pamuk and Arshad Mohammed in Washington;
Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu, Jonathan Landay and Simon Lewis in Washington and by David Milliken in London;
Writing by Francois Murphy and Arshad Mohammed
Editing by David Goodman and Sonya Hepinstall

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