Iran previously carried out secret nuclear activities with material not declared to the U.N. nuclear watchdog at three locations that have long been under investigation, the watchdog said in a wide-ranging, confidential report to member states seen by Reuters.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded that “these three locations, and other possible related locations, were part of an undeclared structured nuclear programme carried out by Iran until the early 2000s and that some activities used undeclared nuclear material”, the “comprehensive” report requested by the IAEA’s Board of Governors in November said.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Iran considers nuclear weapons “unacceptable”, reiterating the country’s longstanding position amid delicate negotiations with the United States.
Western governments have long suspected Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear weapons capability to counter widely suspected but undeclared arsenal of Israel.
“If the issue is nuclear weapons, yes, we too consider this type of weapon unacceptable,” Araghchi, Iran’s lead negotiator in the talks, said in a televised speech. “We agree with them on this issue.”
