US-Iran nuclear talks must address these key issues

Iran and the United States say they have reached a deal to end their war, which is expected to pave the way for talks ​on Iran's nuclear programme. Below is an outline of the key issues they face in those talks.

WHY THE CONCERN?

Iran's uranium-enrichment programme has long caused the ‌U.S. and its allies to worry that Tehran is at least keeping the option open of one day producing nuclear weapons, since enriched uranium can be used to fuel power plants or make the core of a nuclear bomb.


While modern nuclear power plants generally use fuel enriched to up to 5% purity, Iran was enriching uranium to up to 60%, a short step from the roughly 90% of weapons grade, ​until Israel and the U.S. bombed its nuclear facilities last June.

Israel argued that Iran was getting too close to being able to produce a nuclear weapon, but ​the U.N. nuclear watchdog said it had no credible indication of a coordinated nuclear weapons programme in Iran.

As a party to the ⁠nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran has the right to develop nuclear technology, including enrichment, for peaceful purposes. Iran says it would never produce nuclear weapons.

It is, however, the only country to ​enrich to 60% without making an atom bomb. The amount it has enriched to that level is "a matter of serious concern", the International Atomic Energy Agency has said.

-Reuters