Iran says nuke program testing newest centrifuge
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran said Saturday it has begun mechanical tests on its newest advanced nuclear centrifuge, even as the five world powers that remain in a foundering 2015 nuclear deal with Iran attempt to bring the U.S. back into the agreement.
Iran’s IR-9 centrifuge, when operational, would have the ability to separate uranium isotopes more quickly than the current centrifuges being used, thereby enriching uranium at a faster pace. The announcement carried on state TV came on Iran’s 15th annual “Nuclear Day.”
The IR-9’s output is 50 times quicker than the first Iranian centrifuge, the IR1. The country also announced it had launched a chain of 164 IR-6 centrifuges on Saturday, and is also developing IR-8 centrifuges.
Since January, Iran has begun enriching uranium at up to 20% purity, a technical step away from weapons-grade levels, though Iran’s leadership insists the country has no desire to develop a nuclear weapon.
Former President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the nuclear accord in 2018, accusing Iran of failing to live up to the agreement, opting for what he called a maximum-pressure campaign of steppedup U.S. sanctions and other tough actions.
Iran responded by intensifying its enrichment of uranium and building centrifuges in plain violation of the accord, while insisting that its nuclear development is for civilian not military purposes.
Israel maintains Iran still maintains the ambition of developing nuclear weapons, pointing to
Tehran’s ballistic missile program and research into other technologies. Tehran denies it is pursuing nuclear weapons, and says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Iran also announced that it has finished repairs on an advanced centrifuge assembly plant that was destroyed by a mysterious explosion in July, state-run IRNA news agency reported.
Iran has blamed Israel for a recent series of attacks, including the explosion at the Natanz nuclear facility as well as another one in November that killed top scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. He had founded the Islamic Republic’s military nuclear program two decades ago.
Iran’s stockpile of 20% enriched uranium has reached 121 pounds, moving its nuclear program closer to weapons-grade enrichment levels. The amount of the material was 17 kilograms in January.
Iran has installed 1,000 IR2 centrifuge machines and one cascade of 164 IR4 machines. Both are in operation and have more speed than the IR1 machines.
Since late February, Iran has ceased abiding by a confidential agreement with the U.N.‘s nuclear watchdog reached as part of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal. The International Atomic Energy Agency has additional protocols with several countries it monitors.
Under the protocol with Iran, the IAEA “collects and analyzes hundreds of thousands of images captured daily by its sophisticated surveillance cameras,” the agency said in 2017. The agency also said then that it had placed “2,000 tamper-proof seals on nuclear material and equipment.”