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UN watchdog says Iran plans to increase uranium enrichment

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates –

Iran plans to install two new lines of advanced centrifuges that will allow Tehran to rapidly enrich more uranium, the United Nations nuclear watchdog said on Thursday, the United Nations nuclear watchdog said. Five, it is the latest escalation in the country’s nuclear program stalemate.

The decision to add two IR-6 centrifuges at their underground Natanz nuclear facility came as the nations of the International Atomic Energy Agency meeting in Vienna voted on Wednesday night. to criticize Iran. The reprimand referred to what the watchdog referred to as Iran’s failure to provide “reliable information” about man-made nuclear material found at three undeclared locations in the country.

But even before the vote, Iran shut down two pieces of equipment that the IAEA uses to monitor enrichment at Natanz. Iranian officials also threatened to take more steps amid the years-long crisis that threatens to expand into further attacks.

The IAEA said on Thursday that Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi had told members that Iran had informed the agency that it planned to install two new stages of IR-6 at Natanz. The cascade is a series of interconnected centrifuges that rapidly spin uranium gas to enrich it.

The IR-6 centrifuge spins uranium 10 times faster than first-generation centrifuges that Iran was limited to in a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. According to the IAEA, since February, Iran has been filming a series of IR-6s at its underground facility in Fordo.

In Natanz, located about 200 kilometers south of the capital Tehran, Iran previously said it planned to install an IR-6 stage. The IAEA said it had “verified” the ongoing installation of that cascade on Monday, while the two promised new falls have yet to begin.

In 2015, Iran and world powers agreed to a nuclear deal in which Tehran significantly limited its uranium enrichment in return for the lifting of economic sanctions. In 2018, then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the accord, raising tensions across the Middle East and triggering a series of attacks and incidents.

Negotiations in Vienna over the tattered Iran nuclear deal have been stalled since April. Since the deal collapsed, Iran runs advanced centrifuges and has a rapidly growing stockpile of enriched uranium.

Non-proliferation experts warn Iran is enriched enough to 60% purity – a short technical step compared to weapons grade of 90% – to build a nuclear weapon if it decides to intend to do so.

Iran insists its program is for peaceful purposes, although UN experts and Western intelligence agencies say Iran has had an organized military nuclear program since 2003.

Analysts say building a nuclear bomb will still take time for Iran if it pursues the weapon, although they warn Tehran’s advances make the program more dangerous. Israel has threatened in the past that it will launch a pre-emptive strike to stop Iran – and has been suspected in a recent series of killings targeting Iranian officials.

Iran has kept IAEA surveillance camera footage since February 2021 as a pressure tactic to restore the nuclear deal.

The censorship resolution at the IAEA meeting in Vienna, sponsored by Germany, France, the UK and the US, was passed with the support of 30 of the 35 governors. Russian Ambassador Mikhail Ulyanov wrote on Twitter. India, Libya and Pakistan abstained.

After the vote, a joint statement from France, Germany, the UK and the US said the criticism “sends a clear message to Iran that it must meet its protection obligations and provide explanations”. technically reliable for the protection issues that remain.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign ministry criticized the investigation as a “political, inaccurate and fanciful act.”

An Iranian official had earlier warned IAEA officials that Tehran was also now considering taking “other measures”.

“We hope that they will stay awake and respond to Iran’s cooperation with cooperation,” said Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. “It is unacceptable that they display inappropriate behavior while Iran continues to cooperate.”

On Wednesday night, a drone exploded over the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, in the Kurdish region, injuring three people and damaging cars and a restaurant, officials said. near. While no one immediately announced the attack, Iran has targeted Irbil in the past amid regional tensions.

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