The International Atomic Energy Agency has informed member states that Iran has begun enriching uranium with advanced IR-4 centrifuges in Natanz.
Reuters reported Wednesday morning that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had informed its members in a report that Iran had begun enriching uranium at its nuclear site in Nazanz with advanced IR-4‌ type centrifuges.
“The agency presented the report to member states on Monday,” Reuters reported: “On March 15, 2021, the IAEA confirmed that Iran had begun supplying gas to the cascade of 174 IR-4 centrifuges previously installed at the uranium enrichment site with uranium hexafluoride gas.”
Last year, Iran transferred three waterfalls of different advanced models of its centrifuges from an overground site in Natanz to an underground enrichment site, Reuters reported.
Reuters wrote that Iran had already begun enriching uranium with IR-2mA centrifuges, while the nuclear deal alone allowed Iran to use first-generation IR-1 centrifuges for enrichment.
A few days ago, the International Atomic Energy Agency wrote in a report to the members of this international body: “On March 7, the IAEA confirmed that … Iran has begun injecting UF6 into the third waterfall, which includes 174 IR-2m centrifuges.”
The following is the report: “A fourth centrifuge cascade has been installed but no natural UF6 has been injected yet; “The installation of the fifth cascade of IR-2m centrifuges is underway, and the installation of the sixth cascade of IR-2m centrifuges has not yet begun.”
About a month ago, Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman and deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization, said that Iran would install 1,000 IR2m centrifuges in Natanz in less than three months.
In response to a question about the installation of IR2m centrifuges in Natanz based on the resolution of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, he said: “I do not have exact statistics now, but I can say with certainty that we will have a thousand IR2m centrifuges installed three months ago. We had to produce a number of machines and at the same time we are producing and installing these machines. “We will deploy 1,000 cars in three months.”
Iran and the IAEA have recently agreed to suspend the implementation of the Additional Protocol and the Borjami access, and to implement only Iran’s safeguard obligations. Accordingly, according to parliamentary law, no extra-supervisory access will be granted to the Agency and no extra-supervisory inspections will be conducted.
Although Washington has been a party to the nuclear deal, the new US administration says a return to the IAEA depends on the Islamic Republic of Iran taking back the steps it has taken in response to the breach of the US treaty.