Washington
3 February 2023

The U.S., jointly with the UK, France and Germany issued a statement regarding what the IAEA had reported as an undeclared “substantial change” at Fordow, describing the move as “inconsistent with Iran’s obligations under its NPT-required Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement”. “Such lack of required notification undermines the Agency’s ability to maintain timely detection at Iran’s nuclear facilities”, they emphasised, while asserting: “The production of high-enriched uranium by Iran at the Fordow Enrichment Plant carries significant proliferation-related risks and is without any credible civilian justification”. The four governments also underscored: “Iran has also offered no credible answer yet to the IAEA’s outstanding questions as part of the IAEA’s safeguards investigation”.

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