Iran has informed the United Nations and its nuclear watchdog that it plans to install more than 6,000 additional uranium enrichment centrifuges at its enrichment facilities and put more of those already in operation, according to a confidential report by the watchdog published on Thursday.
The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), seen by Reuters, explains what Iran means by its announcement to add thousands of centrifuges in response to a resolution against it adopted last week by the IAEA’s 35-member Board of Governors at the request of Britain, France, Germany and the United States.
The increased enrichment capacity means Iran can enrich uranium more quickly, potentially increasing the risk of nuclear proliferation. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons, but Western powers say there is no civilian justification for enriching uranium to 60 percent purity, close to the roughly 90 percent needed to make a nuclear weapon, and something no other country has done without building a nuclear bomb.
The only enrichment level specified for the new centrifuges is 5 percent purity, a far cry from the 60 percent Iran already produces. The lower purity level, particularly at the Fordow facility, could be seen as a conciliatory move by Iran as it seeks common ground with European powers before the return of newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump. However, the enrichment level could easily be changed later.
