Iran: New Centrifuges at Natanz, Fordow

By Staff, Agencies

Iran announced that it has started installing new cascades of advanced centrifuge machines at two uranium enrichment sites in Fordow and Natanz, the envoy to the UN office in Vienna Kazem Gharibabadi said.

In a post on his Twitter account on Tuesday, Gharibabadi revealed that 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,” the Iranian official wrote.

He further highlighted that “The IAEA is yet able to verify and is informed of the progress as planned.”

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.