Ali-Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), made the comment in an interview with state TV conducted at a centrifuge assembly hall of the Martyr Ahmadi Roshan Enrichment Facility in Natanz, central Iran.

“At the moment, this place has a capacity of [producing] around 60 machines per day, which means the halls to be created in 10 months’ time will be able to ramp up [uranium enrichment capacity] to 190,000 SWUs,” Salehi said.

“We will assemble new centrifuges to the extent allowed under the JCPOA, and even if we have [an enrichment capacity of] 180,000 SWUs today, the condition will not be prepared and there is not enough raw material for this extent of enrichment.”

“After the conclusion of the JCPOA, we were able to add around 400 tonnes of raw material to the 550 tonnes we already had,” the AEOI chief noted.

He further underlined that Iran tries to raise its capacity of producing raw material in parallel with its uranium enrichment capacity.

“If our [uranium enrichment] capacity rises to 190,000 SWUs, each year we will need 300 tonnes of uranium to be used as feed [for enrichment], and we don’t have that amount at the moment, but we are making every effort to be able to increase our raw material production capacity in the country to 300 tonnes in the coming years,” Salehi said.

“We moved forward with the prediction that nuclear talks would break down or would be violated, and the Leader of the [Islamic] Revolution had also told us not to trust the United States,” said the nuclear chief.

“This hall (the industrial shed where the TV interview was being conducted) had been constructed before the JCPOA was signed, and we equipped this abandoned industrial shed back in 2014,” he noted.

“This industrial shed has several pavilions; for example, rotors are tested at different speeds at these pavilions,” Salehi said.

He said the halls are where centrifuge parts are tested.

“All necessary tests for rotors and other parts used in centrifuges are tested in this hall. Also, there is a bigger hall under construction where it will be possible to fully control 60 centrifuges,” he added.

“Since the Supreme Leader issued the order [to make preparations to increase uranium enrichment capacity to 190,000 SWUs,] work has been underway round the clock to make these halls operational. A lot of work has been done over the past 48 hours, and we hope all of these halls will become ready and enter service in a month’s time,” Salehi said.

He further noted that the current industrial sheds are suitable for IR2, IR4 and IR6 centrifuges “which are among our modern centrifuges,” adding that an extension hall is to be constructed which will be big enough to accommodate IR8 centrifuges as well.

Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), stressed on Tuesday that Iran acts in accordance with the JCPOA for the time being, which means it is ready to act outside the agreement if need arises.

However, he said, the measures which could be adopted by Iran in the coming years might come sooner.

He made the comments at a press conference in Tehran, reports Fars News Agency.

“The measures being adopted at the moment are in keeping with the JCPOA, and we announced in the two letters we sent to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that the capacities we are using for production are in line with Codes 1 and 3, and are not against the JCPOA and our commitments under the IAEA’s Safeguards Agreement,” he said.

Iran to Produce Necessary New Centrifuges for Research
He further underlined a facility which is to be built for centrifuges is and will be in compliance with the JCPOA.

“As long as we have remained in the JCPOA, we produce new centrifuges only if they are needed for research; otherwise, mass production [of centrifuges] is not on the agenda,” Kamalvandi noted.

“Mr Salehi (the AEOI chief) also said that the facility has a high production capacity, and we can quickly produce more centrifuges, which not only means our production capacity has increased, but also suggests we can provide the necessary requirements quickly and in a short period of time to ramp up our uranium enrichment capacity to 190,000 separative work units (SWUs), which is not in violation of the JCPOA,” he said.

“If they had lived up to their commitments, we wouldn’t need to be seeking the capacity for mass production as of now, and we would be able to take our time while doing this; however, we maintained our preparedness for every scenario and conditions fearing that the other side would keep breaching its obligations,” he said.

The AEOI spokesman was asked about whether or not the US has prompted the recent moves.
“What we are doing is not a matter of ‘who’s at fault,’ but is something which is being done at a faster pace based on requirements and needs,” he said.

“If they had made good on their obligations, we would have taken our time doing this, and we would start increasing the number of centrifuges right before the eight-and-a-half-year period of time designated for this, and would start right then, not today,” he noted.

The spokesman said that if Iran has begun increasing its uranium enrichment capacity today so quickly is because Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei instructed authorities to do so and to be prepared.
“As Mr Salehi said, the scientific army of the AEOI is ready to obey the [Leader’s] orders,” the spokesman noted.

He then touched upon the volume of Iran’s uranium reserves.

The spokesman said the country’s UFC6 deposits stand at 300 kg, and its U reserves amount to 200 kg.

“But we have exceptions, too. That means if the fuel we produce is of the radiation type, the amount will be different,” he said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he said the letters Iran has sent to the IAEA show the country is poised for action if the other side breaches its commitments.

“If they do not deliver on their obligations, we can quickly make up for the restrictions that we accepted voluntarily,” he underlined.

Iran’s Hands Won’t Be Tied, Whatsoever
On Iran’s possible moves if it withdraws from the JCPOA, he said, “We will cross the bridge when we come to it.”

“If we decide to leave the JCPOA, we’d better talk about it. But we have said it, time and again, that we have established the required capacity.

However, we will not use the capacity as long as the JCPOA is in place,” the spokesman said.

“An example of these capacities is the production of new machines. We have done a lot of research on it for years … as long as we remain in the JCPOA, we use a small part of its potential, and we will only use it for research and development, and not mass production,” he said.

“And the cases that we said would bewilder the other side if it pulls out of the JCPOA show we have not sat idly by over the past years and have done a lot of work, and when the circumstances change, Iran’s hands will not be tied, and the situation will unfold in such a way that the other side will be astonished,” he said.

“One example of such measures is the high rate of production of machines, especially new ones, and when these are installed, our production capacity which stands at 7,000 SWUs at the moment could be multiplied,” he said.

Kamalvandi’s comments come as AEOI chief Ali-Akbar Salehi said earlier that Iran has already prepared infrastructure required to immediately resume its nuclear activities if the nuclear agreement it signed with six world powers collapses.

Salehi said Iran has been ready for all scenarios regarding the JCPOA, including the other signatories’ failure to meet their commitments under the deal. To that end, he said, Iran has prepared vast infrastructure that would enable the country to achieve a nuclear capability higher than what it was before the nuclear deal was signed.

Salehi further said the infrastructure has been prepared to ramp up the uranium enrichment capacity at Fordow nuclear facility to 190,000 SWUs as instructed by Ayatollah Khamenei.