World Powers Voice Concern Over Iran's Nuclear Program

A file photo of an IAEA board of governors meeting in Vienna

World powers have said they are deeply concerned about the motivations behind Iran's nuclear program in the face of Tehran's refusal to answer questions about possible military dimensions to the work.

Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States expressed their concerns on June 9 in a joint statement to a meeting of the board of the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The statement came a day after Iran announced it was expanding uranium enrichment -- the most sensitive part of its nuclear program.

The so-called P5+1 Group said it was vital that Iran clarify the issues and provide "prompt access to a range of places, individuals, and information associated with the PMD [possible military dimension] issue."

Earlier, the U.S. ambassador to the IAEA, Glyn Davies, condemned Iran's plans to triple its uranium-enrichment capacity in defiance of multiple UN sanctions, which she described as "most recent brazen example of its deepening noncompliance."

On June 8, Iran's nuclear chief Fereidoun Abbasi Davani announced that Iran would expand its production of 20 percent-enriched uranium and move the work from its main enrichment plant in Natanz to a specialized site at Fordow.

compiled from agency reports