Global Issues
UK, France, Germany say Iran must 'reverse its nuclear escalation'
Iran has increased its manufacturing of enriched uranium such that it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to possess uranium enriched to 60%.
![Demonstrators wave flags and carry a drawing of a missile during a rally in Tehran in October. [Atta Kenare/AFP]](/gc7/images/2024/12/19/48580-afp__20241002__36hy7xe__v1__highres__iranisraellebanonpalestinianconflict-370_237.webp)
By Global Watch and AFP |
Britain, France and Germany accused Iran on December 17 of growing its stockpile of high enriched uranium to "unprecedented levels" without "any credible civilian justification."
The three countries known as the E3 said in a statement ahead of a United Nations Security Council meeting December 17 on Tehran's nuclear program that Iran must "reverse its nuclear escalation."
Iran has increased its manufacturing of enriched uranium such that it is the only non-nuclear weapons state to possess uranium enriched to 60%, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear watchdog said.
That level is well on the way to the 90% required for an atomic bomb.
"Iran's stockpile of High Enriched Uranium has also reached unprecedented levels, again without any credible civilian justification. It gives Iran the capability to rapidly produce sufficient fissile material for multiple nuclear weapons," the trio said in the statement.
"Iran has ramped up its installation of advanced centrifuges, which is yet another damaging step in Iran's efforts to undermine the nuclear deal that they claim to support."