France says Iran is building nuclear weapons capacity, urgent to revive 2015 deal

FILE PHOTO: French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian speaks during a news conference with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Egypt's Al-Azhar (not pictured), in Cairo, Egypt November 8, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El-Ghany

PARIS (Reuters) - Iran is in the process of building up its nuclear weapons capacity and it is urgent that Tehran and Washington return to a 2015 nuclear agreement, France's foreign minister was quoted as saying in an interview published on Saturday.

Iran has been accelerating its breaches of the nuclear deal and earlier this month started pressing ahead with plans to enrich uranium to 20% fissile strength at its underground Fordow nuclear plant. That is the level Tehran achieved before striking the deal with world powers to contain its disputed nuclear ambitions.