Germany, UK and France say they are extremely concerned about Iran enrichment increase

BERLIN - Germany, Britain and France said on Monday they were "extremely concerned" about Iran's acceleration in its capacity for enrichment of uranium, urging Iran to halt and reverse these steps.

Rafael Grossi, head of the UN nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told Reuters on Friday that Iran was accelerating its enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, approaching the level of about 90% that is weapons-grade.

Enrichment refines the raw material so it can be used as fuel in civil nuclear power generation or, potentially, nuclear weapons. Iran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons.

Germany, Britain and France, known informally as the E3, said in a joint statement they condemned Iran's latest steps to significantly increase the rate of production of uranium enriched up to 60% at the underground Fordow facility.

"We are also extremely concerned to learn that Iran has increased the number of centrifuges in use and started preparations to install additional enrichment infrastructure, further increasing Iran’s enrichment capacity," they said.

Iran’s actions have further hollowed out the 2015 nuclear deal and will increase Iran’s high enriched uranium stockpile which already has "no credible civilian justification," they added.

"We strongly urge Iran to reverse these steps, and to immediately halt its nuclear escalation," they said.

(Reporting by Sarah Marsh in Berlin; Editing by Matthew Lewis)