A report released by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on 31 August 2006 confirmed that Iran had continued uranium enrichment activities at its Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant, ignoring a UN Security Council deadline set for that same date. Centrifuge cascades, including a 164-machine unit, were fed with uranium hexafluoride (UF6) at various points between June and August 2006, with Iran reporting enrichment reaching 5 percent U-235. Installation of a second 164-machine cascade was also under way.
The IAEA noted several transparency concerns. Iranian authorities refused inspectors permission to keep notes during a mid-August visit and required that notes already taken be destroyed. A key 15-page document on uranium metal processing remained sealed inside Iran. The agency also detected highly enriched uranium particles in containers at the Karaj Waste Storage Facility, and asked Iran to explain the contamination.
Iran additionally withheld multi-entry visas from designated IAEA inspectors for roughly a month before issuing some on 30 August, pledging to complete the remainder by 10 September 2006.
The IAEA concluded that Iran had neither suspended enrichment nor cooperated fully with the Additional Protocol, leaving inspectors unable to verify whether the nuclear program was entirely peaceful.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in August 2006, in its own words.