Iran ramps up uranium enrichment amidst international concerns

Iran is installing new devices to enrich uranium at the special Fordo facility, according to a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Iran International, citing its sources, reports that Iran is increasing its uranium enrichment capabilities in response to an IAEA resolution that, in early June, appealed to the authorities in Tehran to agree to IAEA inspections, which they opposed.

"On 9 and 10 June… Iran informed the Agency that eight cascades each containing 174 IR-6 centrifuges would be installed over the next 3-4 weeks", according to the IAEA report.

The document also states "On 11 June 2024, the Agency verified at FFEP that Iran had completed the installation of IR-6 centrifuges in two cascades in Unit 1. Installation of IR-6 centrifuges in four additional cascades was ongoing," said the IAEA.

Before the installation of the new systems, the Fordo facility operated eight machines for enriching uranium. Although the installation of the announced centrifuges was supposed to be completed already, so far, only preparatory work has been carried out.

New centrifuges will also be built in the underground Natanz facility, where a uranium enrichment program is also being implemented, although the Iranian authorities have not disclosed their number. At the same time, Iran informed the IAEA that it would create 18 IR-2m systems in Natanz.

According to the 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the JCPOA, Iran can enrich uranium to no higher than 3.67 percent. In exchange for such a commitment from Tehran, international economic sanctions imposed on the country were lifted.

The nuclear agreement was suspended during the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump after America withdrew from the JCPOA.

Talks to revive the nuclear agreement, held for several years in Vienna, have so far failed. Delegations from the pact's signatory states, including Iran, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, and Germany, participated in the discussions. The Americans took part indirectly, as Tehran disagreed with their presence at the negotiating table.

At the beginning of 2023, the IAEA warned that Iran has 18 times more uranium enriched to 60 percent than the 2015 nuclear agreement allowed. Later, according to AFP, Tehran slowed the production of enriched uranium. Still, by the end of last year, the pace of this process tripled, increasing from about 3 kilograms to about 9 kilograms (approximately 7 pounds to approximately 20 pounds) per month.

To produce an atomic bomb, uranium enriched to 90 percent is needed.