Iran says it has further enriched its uranium, drawing widespread condemnation

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said it was 'another unfortunate step backward'

FOX NEWS –

Iran has taken steps to enrich uranium metal to a 20 percent purity and manufacture nuclear reactor fuel, the United Nation’s top nuclear watchdog announced Tuesday.

With the use of “indigenously-produced uranium” Iran will reportedly use fuel to supply the Tehran Research Reactor, but the U.S. and allied nations have called the move “worrying.”

US-IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL STALEMATE A ‘MISTRUST-AND-VERIFY SITUATION,’ FORMER CIA CHIEF SAYS

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said it was “another unfortunate step backward” as the U.S. has engaged in indirect talks on nuclear nonproliferation with Iran since April.

Price told reporters Tuesday that the move will not give Iran any leverage as the U.S. seeks to re-establish a nuclear agreement with the Middle Eastern nation, and said the “window for diplomacy remains open