Source: Xinhua| 2018-06-07 05:57:10|Editor: yan

VIENNA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Iran has informed the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), of its plans to boost uranium enrichment.

"The agency received a letter from Iran on June 4 informing the agency that there is a tentative schedule to start production of UF6," a spokesman for IAEA told Xinhua on Wednesday.

UF6, or uranium hexafluoride, is a chemical compound which serves as feedstock for centrifuges, the machines that enrich uranium.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said earlier this week he had ordered preparations to increase uranium enrichment capacity if the nuclear deal fell apart after the U.S. withdrawal. He believed the decision does not violate the deal.

Under the deal, Iran is allowed to have low-enriched uranium, instead of weapon grade uranium.