Iranian MP says 20 percent uranium enrichment continuing

TEHRAN,Oct.28(MNA) – Iran has not halted enrichment of uranium to 20 percent, a senior Iranian parliamentarian said, according to Reuters. Diplomats accredited to the UN nuclear watchdog said on Friday they had no information to substantiate the reports claiming that Tehran had halted enrichment to purity of 20 percent. Any halt of enrichment would be a big surprise, as Western experts believe Iran would want to use such activity as a bargaining chip to win relief from international sanctions. An end to Iran’s higher-grade enrichment of uranium is a main demand of world powers negotiating with Tehran over its nuclear work. “Enrichment to 20 percent is continuing,” Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said on Saturday. Iran and six world powers, known as the P5+1, are engaged in negotiations to bring about a diplomatic resolution to the dispute, which has brought sanctions on Iran’s energy, shipping, and banking sectors. Their last meeting was held in October in Geneva, and another one is scheduled for November.