US, European powers express alarm at Iran enriching uranium to 84%

FILE PHOTO: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi attends an IAEA board of governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, March 6, 2023. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.S. and Europe's top powers on Wednesday expressed alarm at Iran having produced a tiny amount of uranium enriched to 84% purity, very close to weapons grade, and said Iran must explain how it happened.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog found uranium particles enriched to up to 83.7% at Fordow, a site dug into a mountain and the second place where it is continuously enriching uranium to up to 60%. Weapons grade is around 90%.