The UN says Iran has increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, rising to near nuclear weapons levels.

The UN-affiliated International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran had increased its stockpile of weapons-grade uranium. The IAEA report was published by the AP news agency. The IAEA said on August 17 that Iran had 164.7 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent, up 22.6 kilograms from its previous report. Uranium enriched to 60 percent can quickly be converted to the 90 percent needed for weapons.

On August 26, the IAEA confirmed that Iran had completed the installation of eight cascades of IR-6 centrifuges at the underground Fordow plant and 10 of the planned 18 cascades of IR-2m centrifuges at Natang. The moves, known for months, have outraged Britain, Germany and France, which called them an escalation of Iran's nuclear program.

The report notes that Iran has refused to allow IAEA inspectors access to its nuclear program, and the agency's surveillance cameras at nuclear sites in Iran are still not working. The IAEA report comes after Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hinted at a possible resumption of nuclear talks with the United States.

Under the 2015 deal, Iran curbed its nuclear program in exchange for easing economic sanctions. But nuclear work has resumed since Trump imposed sanctions on Iran, raising concerns in the U.S., Europe and Israel that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons. Iran denies such ambitions. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned in July that Iran could produce nuclear weapons material “within a week or two.”

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