A confidential UN report obtained by the Reuters news agency and exposed on Wednesday indicates that Iran has continued to enrich uranium and develop its nuclear program, but the sanctions that have been imposed on the Islamic Republic have slowed down its quest to achieve nuclear weapons.

The draft report, according to a report on Israel’s Channel 2 News, says that “the sanctions are slowing down Iran’s ability to acquire some critical components that are necessary for its prohibited nuclear program. At the same time, it is continuing its forbidden activities, including uranium enrichment.”

Earlier this week The Associated Press published a graphic rendering of a pressure structure that may prove Iran is developing a nuclear weapon. The drawing is believed to have come from inside the Parchin military site near Tehran. It shows a cylindrical explosives containment chamber of the type needed for nuclear arms-related tests.

The revelation came one day before International Atomic Energy Agency officials met Iranian representatives and pressed them for greater cooperation.

The IAEA asked Iran for access to the Parchin military base, where an IAEA report from November said Iran had conducted high-explosives tests in a specially designed chamber.

Iran’s envoy in Vienna, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, later described the discussions with IAEA officials as “good” and said the atmosphere of the talks had been “very constructive.”

Next week, the P5+1 – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany – will meet with Iran in Baghdad for talks on its nuclear program.