In another indication that Iran may be seeking to deescalate its confrontation with the United States, United Nations nuclear inspectors are seeing some signs that Tehran is lifting its foot, if just a bit, on the acceleration of its nuclear program.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in an interview that Iran was still adding to its supply of uranium enriched to 60% purity — which can be further enriched rapidly to the level needed to produce nuclear weapons. But the surge in production that began just after the Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack appears to have abated, he said. “There is a bit of a slowing down,” Grossi said, adding, “They are still adding to the stockpile but more slowly.”

Grossi has been engaged in years of jousting with Iran over the restrictions it has placed on inspectors, and its dismantling of cameras and other sensors at key locations in the country’s vast — and dispersed — nuclear fuel production program.

Divining Iran’s intentions from its enriched uranium production is difficult, but over the years the rate has been more closely linked to the level of tension in Iran’s relationships with the United States and Israel than it has been with the technical necessities of production.

In recent days, after a drone attack linked to an Iran-allied group killed three American service members in Jordan, Tehran repeatedly has signaled it does not want a direct confrontation with the United States.

On Tuesday, the Iran-backed militia that appears responsible for the drone attack, Kataib Hezbollah, or Brigades of the Party of God, said it was giving in to pressure from Iran and Iraq to cease targeting American forces. The militia is the largest and most established of the Iran-linked groups operating in Iraq.

It is not clear precisely when the slowdown in uranium production began, but it appears Iran has grown concerned that its nuclear enrichment program could become a major military target. Israel regularly has run exercises to simulate bombing it, and the United States engaged in actions for more than 15 years to sabotage the program.

Iran has denied that its goal is to produce a nuclear weapon, and so far intelligence officials have said there is no evidence it is racing to produce one.

Iranian authorities appear to have calibrated their enrichment activities carefully to stay just below the threshold of weapons-grade material. That is usually defined as uranium enriched to 90% purity, but it is possible to build weapons with fuel enriched somewhat below that level.

In November the IAEA reported that the country had about 282 pounds of 60% enriched uranium. Starting in June, it reduced its production dramatically, in what appeared to be a quiet signal to the United States. But production surged in December and only recently slowed again.

None of these variations affects the larger picture: Iran now has more uranium that is close to bomb grade than it has had in years, after a 2015 nuclear agreement forced it to give up 97% of its stockpile. President Donald Trump withdrew from that accord in 2018, triggering the current buildup. In addition, Iran has begun to build underground facilities that are harder to bomb.