Iran's nuclear co-operation 'a step forward'

Iran’s co-operation with a UN investigation of past suspicious atomic activities is “a significant step forward,” says a report expected to hamper US-led efforts for new sanctions on Tehran.

At the same time, the report issued in Vienna, Austria, confirmed that Iran continued to expand its uranium enrichment programme, reflecting the Islamic republic’s defiance of the UN Security Council.

Still, UN officials said, both enrichment and the building of a plutonium-producing reactor was continuing more slowly than expected.