Behrouz Kamalvandi said in an interview with Iran’s ISNA news agency that despite the political pressures and American sanctions, Tehran has no restrictions on the production of nuclear materials, research and development, and construction of nuclear power plants to generate electricity,

“Tehran currently produces 10 tonnes of yellowcake annually, while it used to produce 4 tonnes under the nuclear agreement,” he added.

Remarking on the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Kamalvandi said the report had met Iran’s expectations, noting that the nuclear watchdog had visited one of the two agreed-upon sites, and would visit the other site later this month.

In response to the US unilaterally withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal and the reimposing sanctions previously lifted under the deal, Tehran returned to enriching uranium to 4.5 per cent purity which is 3.67 per cent above the limit set by the deal, but lower than the 20 per cent reached before the agreement.