US, France, Germany, UK call on Iran to de-escalate nuclear program

WASHINGTON

The US, France, Germany and the UK on Thursday condemned Iran's increased production of highly enriched uranium following a recent report.

"We urge Iran to immediately reverse these steps and de-escalate its nuclear program," the countries said in a joint statement.

According to the report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has increased its rate of production of uranium enriched up to 60% at Natanz and Fordow to levels observed between January and June 2023, which it said represents "a backwards step by Iran and will result in Iran tripling its monthly production rate of uranium enriched up to 60%."

Iran must fully cooperate with the IAEA to enable it to provide assurances that its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful, and to re-designate the inspectors suspended in September 2023, the statement said.

"We remain committed to a diplomatic solution and reaffirm our determination that Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon," it added.