Iran freezes nuke expansion activities ahead of talks with western powers

Iran has reportedly frozen the expansion of its nuclear activities ahead of the next round of talks with Western powers due next week, a UN atomic watchdog report has revealed.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that Iran has installed only four new centrifuges in the last three months at Natanz plant, compared to 1,861 machines that were put in place in the previous period, News24 reports.

According to the report, no new centrifuges were put into operation at the Fordo facility.

IAEA also added that Iran has not begun operating any IR-2M centrifuges and that no major components had been installed at a reactor being built at Arak with IR-40 reactor, which could provide Iran with plutonium, once it has been up and running for 12 to 18 months.

The IR-2M centrifuges are known to shorten the time needed by Iran to produce enough weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear bomb, the report added.

The quarterly IAEA report was released ahead of a new round of talks between Iran and world powers in Geneva due on November 20.

Earlier, the talks between Iran and the western powers failed on reaching to a deal Tehran's nuclear programme last weekend.

The United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany (the "P5+1") want Iran to freeze the most sensitive parts of its nuclear programme, including the enrichment of uranium to fissile purities of 20 percent, and a halt to construction at Arak.

Iran has demanded, in return, to ease the UN and Western sanctions that have been hammering its economy, and recognition of its right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.