TEHRAN/VIENNA: The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi arrived in Iran on Friday for high-level meetings, the official IRNA news agency reported.
The visit comes amid discussions with Tehran on the origin of uranium particles enriched to up to 83.7 per cent purity, very close to weapons grade, at its Fordow enrichment plant, according to a report by the nuclear watchdog seen by Reuters.
The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, Mohammad Eslami, said on Wednesday that the Islamic Republic's production is at 60 per cent, according to state media.
Grossi landed in the capital Tehran on Friday, state media reported. He was met at the airport by Behrus Kamalwandi, spokesman for the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency, according to the reports.
Western diplomats say that Grossi wants to negotiate more intensive IAEA inspections of nuclear facilities, after Tehran recently increased its enrichment of uranium.
He is scheduled to return to Vienna today, Saturday.
The US and Israel recently expressed concerns that Iran could use the uranium to develop and build nuclear weapons.
Grossi reported on Tuesday that IAEA inspectors had found traces of uranium with a purity level of just under 84 per cent at a facility in Fordo. A purity level of around 90 per cent is required for nuclear weapons.
The IAEA now wants to clarify whether the high enrichment level was achieved deliberately or whether it was an unintentional outlier, as Iranian representatives have said.
Tehran promised in 2015 to limit its nuclear programme in return for the easing of Western sanctions, in a deal that sought to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
But after the US pulled out of the agreement in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump, Tehran reversed the restrictions and negotiations to revive the deal have stalled.
Iran has repeatedly said that its nuclear programme only serves civilian purposes. - dpa
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