Iran plays down IAEA finding of near weapons-grade uranium

Iran's nuclear chief played down on Wednesday a finding from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it had detected uranium particles almost suitable for nuclear weapons in Iran.

"A slight fluctuation was detected in one of the tests, but it couldn't even be seen with a microscope," Iran's nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami said in Tehran.

In a letter from February 20, Iran informed the agency that "unintended fluctuations in enrichment levels may have occurred" in November.

According to the IAEA, the uranium had a purity level of 83.7% - just short of the 90% needed to build a nuclear weapon. Iran has been suspected of working on its own nuclear bomb for many years.

The traces were discovered back in January during an inspection of an Iranian facility at Fordo, where uranium is produced to a purity of 60%.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi officially confirmed the find for the first time on Tuesday evening in Vienna. Talks are now underway with Tehran to clarify the matter, according to a non-public report obtained by dpa.

"You can do it by mistake or you can do it intentionally," said a senior diplomat who closely follows Iran's nuclear programme.

He added that similar changes have also occurred in enrichment plants in other countries.

But in Iran's case, it was "quite a big jump" from 60% to almost 84%.

However, the analyses so far had shown that only a very small amount of 83.7% material had been produced, the diplomat said.