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IAEA flagReuters

Iran is honoring its commitment not to expand atomic activities that could be used to make weapons while it negotiates with six world powers on a lasting nuclear deal, according to a new confidential UN report released Tuesday and seen by The Associated Press (AP).

According to the report, the monthly update by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran continues to observe its obligations from an interim agreement reached last year and is:

— not enriching uranium above 5 percent, which is substantially below the 90-percent level needed for the fissile core of a nuclear weapon.

— diluting or converting most of its stockpile of 20-percent enriched uranium, which can be further enriched to weapons-grade material much more quickly than at 5 percent level.

— not advancing work at an underground uranium enrichment facility thought impervious to last-resort air attacks in an effort to stop Iran's nuclear program.

— maintaining a construction freeze on nearly finished reactor that would produce substantial amounts of plutonium — like highly enriched uranium a source for fissile warhead material.

Diplomats said on Tuesday that the latest negotiating round ending on the weekend in Geneva made some progress, but differences persist over uranium enrichment and other issues.

The new IAEA is updated is the latest in a series of IAEA reports that have indicated that Iran has continued to meet commitments under an interim nuclear agreement. The last such report came in December.

The IAEA also said at one point that Iran is not abiding by the interim conditions in refusing to answer questions on the military aspects of its program.