The latest report from UN weapons inspectors has raised new fears that Iran could be building the capability to make nuclear weapons.

Until now, most experts believed that there were certain clear “red lines” that Iran would need to cross in order to make a bomb. Most importantly, it would need to block UN monitoring, in order to divert uranium from the existing programme to make it suitable for a nuclear warhead.

But it seems from the latest UN report that Iran is trying to stretch or blur those “red lines”, enabling it to move closer to the ability to make a bomb without a major confrontation with the UN or the West.

Iran has continued to allow access to the UN inspectors – any attempt by Iran to end that would trigger a major international crisis.

But the latest International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report shows Iran is playing a delicate game, co-operating, but at the same time limiting the UN’s access to key plants and information.