A new U.N. nuclear agency report shows that Tehran has now amassed nearly twice as much enriched uranium as the West wants removed from Iran.
That finding is likely to increase Western opposition to a nuclear deal that Iran says would build trust about its atomic activities.
A restricted International Atomic Energy Agency report said Monday that Iran has now stockpiled over 2,400 kilograms of low-enriched uranium. That is twice the amount needed to make fissile nuclear warhead material.
Meanwhile, Iran has been preparing extra equipment for higher-level uranium enrichment but has allowed U.N. inspectors better oversight at the site, according to the report.
The report also said the IAEA remains concerned about possible current activity in Iran to develop a nuclear payload for a missile.
Iran has stalled for seven months on a deal to remove about half that amount of uranium and turning it into nuclear fuel. Iran now is ready to accept the Western plan — but with the extra enriched material it has produced, Iran would still have enough to make a weapons-grade bomb.