Diplomats, demanding anonymity, say the UN nuclear agency has found traces of uranium at Iran's underground atomic site enriched to higher than previous levels and closer to what is needed for nuclear weapons. The diplomats say the finding by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) does not necessarily mean that Iran is secretly raising its enrichment threshold. They say the traces could be left during startup of enriching centrifuges until the desired level is reached. That would be a technical glitch only. But they say the agency is investigating the find because the higher the level of enrichment, the easier it is to turn uranium into nuclear warhead material. The diplomats have been following the IAEA's monitoring of Iran's nuclear program. Russia, meanwhile, called the latest round of talks on the Iranian nuclear standoff “constructive” despite big differences that remain as the parties head for more negotiations in Moscow next month. However, Russia outlined no new initiatives that could be discussed following a bruising session in Baghdad that ended with Iran declaring its “absolute right” to enrich uranium despite fears it was actually building a nuclear bomb. “The round was held in a constructive and business-like atmosphere despite the significant differences in approaches that remain,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. Iran and the six big world powers held what negotiators called open and intense talks that produced no breakthroughs and almost ended with Iran walking away in fury at Western offers on the table. But the parties did salvage an agreement to meet again in Moscow on June 18-19.
