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Abu Dhabi, UAE (CNN) --
Particles of uranium enriched to near-bomb levels have been found inside an Iranian nuclear power plant, according to the UN nuclear watchdog.
The finding comes as the United States has warned that Tehran's ability to build a nuclear bomb is accelerating.
In a restricted report seen by CNN, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that uranium particles were found enriched to 83.7% purity -- a figure close to 90 enrichment levels. % needed to make a nuclear bomb-- at Iran's Fordow fuel enrichment plant, an underground nuclear facility located about 20 miles northeast of the city of Qom.
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The report notes that, in January, the IAEA took environmental samples at the Fordow plant, which showed the presence of highly enriched uranium particles of up to 83.7% purity.
The watchdog later reported to Iran that these findings "do not correspond to the level of enrichment at the Fordow plant declared by Iran and asked the country to clarify the origin of these particles," the report added.
This is a satellite image of the Fordow facility in Iran taken in 2013. Credit: DigitalGlobe/Maxar/Getty Images/File
Iran's stockpiles of uranium enriched up to 60% also increased from 25.2 kg to 87.5 kg since the last quarterly report, according to the confidential IAEA report.
The IAEA report says that talks with Iran to clarify the matter are ongoing, noting that "these developments clearly indicate the IAEA's ability to detect and report changes in the operation of nuclear facilities in Iran."
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In an exclusive interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian did not directly respond to a question about the reports of enriched uranium.
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Amir-Abdollahian said IAEA Deputy Director General Massimo Aparo had visited Iran twice in recent weeks and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has been invited to visit the country.
"We have a road map with the IAEA. And on two occasions, Mr. [Massimo] Aparo, Mr. [Rafael] Grossi's deputy, came to Iran in recent weeks, and we had constructive and productive negotiations. We have also invited Grossi come to Iran soon," Amir-Abdollahian told CNN.
"Therefore, our relationship with the IAEA follows its correct and natural course."
Last year, Iran withdrew all IAEA equipment previously installed for monitoring and control activities related to the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The move had "detrimental implications for the IAEA's ability to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program," according to the IAEA report.
A US State Department spokesman said Tuesday that the IAEA report may amount to a "very serious event."
"We are in close contact with our allies and partners in Europe and the region as we await further details from the IAEA on this potentially very serious event," the spokesperson added.
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said Tuesday that "Iran's nuclear progress since" the Trump administration withdrew the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal "has been remarkable," adding that in 2018, when the United States United States withdrew, "it would have taken Iran about 12 months to produce a fissile, a fissile material bomb."
"Now it would take around 12 days," he said.
More than a year of proxy negotiations between the United States and Iran to try to restore the 2015 nuclear deal broke down in September 2022. Tensions between the two countries only worsened after Iran's crackdown on national protests in their country, and when Tehran supplied drones to Russia in the Ukraine war.
Kahl said Tuesday that the deal is "frozen."
Uranium