Iran reaffirms nuclear program 'peaceful' in response to E3-U.S. statement

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Friday that the country's nuclear program "has always been and will remain peaceful" as frequently stressed. 

Nasser Kanaani made the remarks in response to a joint statement by the governments of the United States and the E3 group of France, Britain and Germany, in which they cited an IAEA report, accusing Iran of having "increased its rate of production of uranium enriched up to 60 percent at Natanz and Fordow" facilities.

Kanaani said that "instead of resorting to projection and adopting political positions, the E3 and the United States should review their performance about the talks on the (revival of a 2015 nuclear deal and) removal of the sanctions (on Iran) over the past two years and see the outcomes of their unconstructive policies."

He noted that enriching uranium to 60 percent at Iran's enrichment centers had always been "in proportion to the country's peaceful needs and completely under the IAEA's supervision and will continue."