Iran says it has installed new and more advanced centrifuges at its two main nuclear sites, a development that has been confirmed by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), announced on Tuesday that new cascades of centrifuges at the underground Natanz and Fordow sites were installed.
“Two cascades of 348 IR2m centrifuges with almost four times the capacity of IR1 are now running with UF6 successfully in Natanz,” he wrote on Twitter in reference to uranium hexafluoride that is used in enriching uranium.
“Installation of two cascades of IR6 centrifuges has also been started in Fordow. There’s more to come.”
Reuters news agency reported that the IAEA’s latest report to member states confirms Iran’s announcement.
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Iran has installed new cascades of advanced centrifuge machines at two uranium enrichment sites in Fordow and Natanz, the envoy to the UN office in Vienna said.
ReplyDeleteIn a post on his Twitter account on Tuesday, Iran’s ambassador to the Vienna-based international organizations said hundreds of new generation of homegrown centrifuges have come on stream at Fordow and Natanz nuclear sites.
“Thanks to our diligent nuclear scientists, two cascades of 348 IR2m centrifuges with almost 4 times the capacity of IR1 are now running with UF6 successfully in Natanz. Installation of 2 cascades of IR6 centrifuges has also been started in Fordow. There's more to come soon,” Kazem Gharibabadi said.
“The IAEA is yet able to verify and is informed of the progress as planned,” the Iranian envoy added.
Last month, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said Tehran has notified the International Atomic Energy Agency of its decision about boosting enrichment activities in compliance with a parliamentary bill.
In December 2020, the Iranian parliament approved a law, dubbed the Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions, which requires the government to scale back more obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
It also requires the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran to produce at least 120 kilograms of 20-percent enriched uranium annually and store it inside the country within two months after the adoption of the law.
The law further urges the AEOI to start the installation, gas injection, enrichment and storage of nuclear materials up to an appropriate enrichment degree within a period of three months using at least 1,000 IR-2m centrifuges.