The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency urged Iran to reach an understanding over its nuclear activities with the administration of US President Donald Trump, in order to avoid being drawn into another military conflict in the Middle East.

Rafael Grossi said in Davos on Tuesday that Iran had increased the pace of producing large quantities of highly enriched uranium to 60 percent, close to the 90 percent needed to produce nuclear weapons.

“There was an agreement before President Trump decided that this was not the path he wanted,” Grossi said, referring to Trump’s decision to freeze his country’s membership in the Iran nuclear deal six and a half years ago. “Now we need to come to an understanding on how to deal with this, excluding war of course. We don’t want any more wars.”

Grossi confirmed that the UN agency's inspectors verified last December that Iran had increased uranium production by 60 percent.

Tehran increased production capacity by about seven times, to about 34 kilograms per month, in response to its condemnation at the IAEA Board of Governors meeting last November.

The IAEA said last November that Iran had 182.3 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent, an increase of 17.6 kilograms compared to August. Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to 20 percent was about 840 kilograms.

Iran's stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium increased by 18 kilograms in the last quarter of last year.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency's standards, about 42 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent is theoretically enough to produce one nuclear weapon if it is enriched to 90 percent.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran is the only country in the world that enriches uranium to 60 percent, without possessing a nuclear weapon.

While Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons, Western countries say there is no justification for enriching uranium to such a high level as part of any credible civilian program.

The UN Security Council received a message from France, Germany and Britain stating that the three European powers are ready to activate the “snapback” mechanism to restore UN sanctions if Tehran does not immediately stop its nuclear escalation.

Iran fears that Donald Trump will return to the maximum pressure strategy, as well as the activation of the “snapback” mechanism before its expiration with the expiration of Resolution 2231 next October. It also fears that Trump will return to the “maximum pressure” strategy.

Press sources reported on Friday that Iranian officials informed their European counterparts last week in Geneva that the Iranian response to the activation of the “snapback” mechanism would not be limited to withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but would go beyond that to changing the nuclear doctrine, in an implicit reference to the possibility of producing a nuclear weapon.

Last month, Majid Takht-e Ravanchi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for political affairs, told members of the parliament’s national security committee: “We told the Europeans that if the snapback mechanism is activated, one of our options will be to withdraw from the NPT.”

“This is an issue that needs to be put back on track,” Grossi said, adding that he hopes to meet with the Trump administration “as soon as possible.”

Before Trump's inauguration, Bloomberg reported that new administration officials were preparing new plans to pressure Iran.

She noted that there is a general consensus among key advisers to return to a full-fledged maximum pressure strategy, starting with a major sanctions package targeting key players in the oil industry, which could begin in February.

Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said in an interview on Sunday that the administration will make important decisions regarding Iran next month, noting that the Israeli strikes on Hamas and Hezbollah and the fall of the Assad regime have created the conditions for making strategic decisions soon.