Iran said on Saturday its uranium enrichment capacity has increased to record levels, in an announcement which comes a day before UN nuclear monitors are set to visit the country, AFP reported. "Currently, the enrichment capacity of the country has reached more than twice the entire history of this industry," Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA . "Nuclear energy and atomic power production have great economic savings for the country and are effective in reducing fossil and non-renewable fuel consumption and environmental problems," he added. Iran has continuously scaled back its compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal it signed with world powers, in response to former US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement in May of 2018. Last month, Tehran announced that it has begun enriching uranium to 60 percent at a second facility. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced on Wednesday that a technical team will visit Iran on Sunday to try to resolve a deadlock over the detection of traces of radioactive material at sites not declared as having hosted nuclear activities. The IAEA has long been pressing Iran to provide answers on the presence of undeclared nuclear material found at three sites . A recent report by the agency concluded there had been "no progress" in the long-standing probe, which has been a key sticking point in talks on a return to the 2015 nuclear deal. The impasse over the agency's probe comes as wider talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal are stalled. Iran in September announced it had submitted its comments to the US response to the European Union’s draft for reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Related articles: Iran ramping up production of near weapons-grade uranium 'Iran pressing the gas on uranium enrichment' 'No justification for Iran's uranium enrichment' Iran to significantly increase its highly enriched uranium While Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at the time that Iran’s response was prepared based on a constructive approach, a senior Biden administration official said the Iranian response "is not at all encouraging.” A US official later said that the efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal have “hit a wall” because of Iran's insistence on the closure of the UN nuclear watchdog's investigations.
