Iran has started enriching uranium with a third cascade, or cluster, of advanced IR-2m centrifuges at its underground plant at Natanz, the world's main nuclear watchdog told its member states on Monday, further breaching Iran's 2015 deal with major powers.
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"On 7 March 2021, the Agency verified ... that: Iran had begun feeding natural UF6 into the third cascade of 174 IR-2m centrifuges," the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a report obtained by Reuters, referring to uranium hexafluoride, the feedstock for centrifuges.
"The fourth cascade of 174 IR-2m centrifuges was installed but had yet to be fed with natural UF6; installation of a fifth cascade of IR-2m centrifuges was ongoing; and installation of a sixth cascade of IR-2m centrifuges had yet to begin," it added.
In early February, Israel Hayom reported that Iran had two cascades of advanced centrifuges with almost four times the enrichment capacity of earlier ones running at its underground Natanz nuclear site, according to the Islamic republic's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency. This week interim Venezuelan leader Juan Guaido told Israel Hayom that "it is public knowledge that several members of the military have been arrested after smuggling uranium from Venezuela, and we believe Iran is one of the main destinations."
The acceleration of breaches appears aimed at raising pressure on President Joe Biden. The new US president wants to revive the accord that his predecessor Donald Trump pulled out of, but Washington and Tehran are locked in a standoff over which side should move first.
The 2015 deal allows Iran to enrich uranium only with first-generation IR-1 centrifuges at the underground, commercial-scale Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) at Natanz. In November Iran started enriching there with a first set of IR-2m machines, which are far more efficient, and has since been adding to it.
In addition to its IR-1 machines, Iran is now using 522 IR-2m centrifuges to enrich uranium to up to 5% fissile purity at the FEP, the IAEA added. That is more than the 3.67% purity allowed under the deal but less than the 20% it is enriching to at another facility, Fordow. Uranium enriched to 90% purity can be used to make an atomic weapon.
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