Reuters: IAEA report shows Iran rapidly expanding enrichment

While indirect talks between Iran and the United States on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal have stalled, Tehran has brought onstream an ever larger number of advanced centrifuges the deal bans it from using to produce enriched uranium.

These machines are far more efficient than the first-generation IR-1, the only centrifuge that the agreement lets Iran use to grow its stock of enriched uranium. Iran has been adding them particularly at two underground sites at Natanz and Fordow that may be designed to withstand potential aerial bombardment.

The third of three cascades, or clusters, of advanced IR-6 centrifuges recently installed at the underground Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) at Natanz has now come onstream, said the International Atomic Energy Agency report to member states.

Diplomats say the IR-6 is Iran’s most advanced centrifuge.

Iran has also quickly completed the installation of seven cascades that were either not finished or at a very early stage of installation on Aug. 31, Monday’s ad hoc report showed. End-August marked the last visit by inspectors mentioned in the IAEA’s most recent quarterly report.

Those seven cascades, one of IR-4 centrifuges and six of IR-2m machines, were fully installed but not yet enriching, Monday’s report added.

Iran has also informed the IAEA it plans to add an extra three cascades of IR-2m machines at the FEP, on top of the 12 already announced and now installed, the report showed.

Of those three extra IR-2m cascades, installation has already started on two of them, according to the report.

The report also showed that all the centrifuges enriching at Natanz were still producing uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas enriched to up to 5% but now they were being fed with natural UF6. That contrasted to the quarterly report issued in September that announced on Aug. 31 the centrifuges were being fed with UF6 enriched to up to 2%. It did not explain the change.

Iran has rejected claims of undeclared nuclear activity in its sites. Tehran also denies seeking nuclear weapons, stressing it wants to master nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.