According to a classified UN nuclear watchdog report seen by Reuters on Monday, Iran is quickly increasing the amount of uranium it can enrich at its underground plant in Natanz using cutting-edge centrifuges, and it now aims to go much farther than it had originally intended.
Iran has brought online an increasing number of the cutting-edge centrifuges that the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement forbids it from using to generate enriched uranium, even as indirect discussions between Iran and the US to revive the accord have faltered.
These devices are far more effective than the first-generation IR-1 centrifuge, which is the sole one that the agreement permits Iran to utilise to increase its store of enriched uranium. Particularly at two subterranean locations at Natanz and Fordow that may be built to survive future aircraft bombing, Iran has been increasing them.
According to the ad hoc report sent to member states on Monday, Iran has swiftly installed seven cascades, or clusters, of advanced centrifuges at the underground Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) at Natanz. This was in contrast to the last quarterly report from the IAEA, which was released on September 7.
According to the report released on Monday, these seven cascades—one IR-4 centrifuge and six IR-2m machines—were fully built but had not yet begun enriching.
The study revealed that in addition to the 12 IR-2m machines that have already been declared and put in place, Iran has also notified the IAEA that it intends to add three more cascades to the FEP.
Two of the three additional IR-2m cascades have already begun the installation process, according to the article.
Iran reportedly put three cascades of cutting-edge IR-6 centrifuges into operation at the subterranean Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP). According to diplomats, Iran’s most sophisticated centrifuge is the IR-6.
The IAEA confirmed that the third IR-6 cascade was enriching on September 6 during the latest inspection described in the quarterly report. According to the report on Monday, all three were still enriching.
According to the report, all of the centrifuges at Natanz that were used for enrichment were now receiving natural UF6 in addition to the uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas they had been generating with an up to 5% enrichment. In contrast, the quarterly report said that they were receiving food that was up to 2 percent enriched with UF6. The alteration was not explained.
In 2018, then-President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the Iran deal and reinstated the sanctions against Iran that had been removed as part of the agreement. Iran’s response was to violate the agreement’s limitations on its nuclear programme.
Iranian sophisticated centrifuges will need to be stored if the deal is resurrected, diplomats said.
