IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano. Photo: wiki commons.

JNS.org – The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano, admitted that his agency cannot “conclude that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities.” The comments come just a month before the Nov. 24 deadline to agree on a final nuclear deal between the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 nations.

A European diplomat told Israel Hayom that Iran does not appear willing to limit its “enrichment program to a level we would find acceptable.”

Most recently, Iranian officials told Reuters that Iran wants to remove the financial sanctions imposed on it in 2012. As a result, Iran is willing to reduce the number of its nuclear centrifuges, as long as the remaining centrifuges can produce uranium at a faster rate so that the country’s overall supply of enriched uranium is not depleted. Western officials have said that this offer is not a legitimate compromise. Currently, Iran has about 19,000 centrifuges, of which about 10,000 are operating to enrich uranium.

“We may have no choice but to extend the talks past November… It’s either that or let the talks collapse,” the European diplomat said.