Iran to continue low-grade uranium enrichment

Iran's low-grade uranium enrichment activities will continue, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Wednesday.

Addressing Iranian lawmakers Wednesday, Zarif said based on the recent deal between Iran and the P5+1 - Britain, China, France, Russia, and the US plus Germany, construction work at Arak heavy water facility in Iran will continue, but no new fuel will be produced and no new equipment will be installed, adding the country would refrain from constructing new enrichment sites over the next six months, reports Xinhua.

Enrichment activities at Natanz and Fordow facilities would continue at a range of 3.5 to five percent purity level and their capacities would not be expanded, Zarif added.

The final step in nuclear negotiations between Tehran and the world powers is not merely the removal of sanctions imposed on the country, but to normalise Iran's nuclear case, the minister said.

The world powers have agreed to lift all sanctions in the final stage of negotiations, cooperate with Tehran on its nuclear programme and provide it with modern facilities.

Iran and P5+1 announced Nov 24, that they had reached a deal after five days of marathon talks in Geneva.

Under the agreement, the US and its allies will provide Iran with limited sanction relief on its oil, gold, petrochemical, civil aviation, and auto industries with an estimated value of $7 billion during the six-month deal.

In exchange, Iran agreed to halt enrichment above five percent and begin neutralising its stockpile of near-20 percent uranium by diluting or converting. Both parties have called the deal an important "initial step for confidence building".