IAEA confirms Iran's intention to ramp up uranium enrichment

VIENNA, Austria - The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tuesday confirmed in a statement that Iran has warned that it would start enriching uranium up to 60 percent purity.

In a report to member states, the IAEA's director general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, "said Iran had informed the Agency that the country intends to start producing UF6 enriched up to 60 percent," said the statement, sent to AFP by a spokesperson.

Iran's announcement cast a shadow over ongoing talks in Vienna, which are set to resume Thursday and are aimed at salvaging the tattered 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers that former US president Donald Trump abandoned three years ago. -- Agence France-Presse