Iranians to fuel centrifuges in step away from nuclear pact
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran will start injecting uranium gas into over a thousand centrifuges at a fortified nuclear facility built inside a mountain, the country’s president announced Tuesday in Tehran’s latest step away from its atomic accord with world powers since President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal over a year ago.
President Hassan Rouhani’s announcement means that Iran’s Fordo nuclear facility, publicly revealed 10 years ago, again will become an active atomic site rather than a research facility as envisioned by the landmark 2015 accord. The State Department announced days ago that it would renew a waiver allowing Russia’s state-run Rosatom nuclear company to continue its conversion work at the site.
The announcement represents a significant development as Fordo’s 1,044 centrifuges previously spun empty for testing purposes under the deal. It also increases pressure on European nations that remain in the accord to offer Iran a way to sell its crude oil abroad. Rouhani threatened to further pull Iran out of the deal in January 2020, which could mean curtailing international surveillance of its program or pushing enrichment close to weapons-grade levels.
“We are aware of their sensitiveness toward the Fordo facility and those centrifuges,” Rouhani said in a live televised address. “At the same time, we cannot tolerate unilateral fulfillment of our commitments and no commitment from their side”
The International Atomic Energy Agency — the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog monitoring Iran’s compliance with the deal — declined to comment on Rouhani’s announcement. European Union spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic described the bloc as “concerned” by Iran’s decision. The White House on Monday sanctioned members of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s inner circle as part of its maximum pressure campaign against Tehran.
Experts described Iran’s announcement as a major tear to the unraveling deal.
“They’re getting closer and closer to muscle. They aren’t cutting fat right now,” said Richard Nephew, a scholar at Columbia University who worked on the deal while at the State Department.
Fordo sits about 15 miles northeast of Qom, a Shiite holy city and the site of a former ammunition dump. Shielded by the mountains, the facility also is ringed by anti-aircraft guns and other fortifications. It is about the size of a football field, large enough to house 3,000 centrifuges, but small and hardened enough to lead U.S. officials to suspect it had a military purpose.
Iran acknowledged Fordo’s existence in 2009 amid a major pressure campaign by Western powers over Tehran’s nuclear program. The West feared Iran could use its program to build a nuclear weapon; Iran insists the program is for peaceful purposes.
Rouhani said Tuesday that the centrifuges at Fordo would be injected with gas Wednesday. He did not say whether the centrifuges would produce enriched uranium.