Iran starts enriching uranium with advanced IR-6 centrifuges - report

The cascade of up to 174 machines is being used to enrich uranium up to 5% purity at underground Natanz plant

i24NEWS - Reuters
i24NEWS - Reuters
2 min read
2 min read
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A handout picture provided by the Iranian presidential office on April 10, 2021, shows a grab of a videoconference screen of an engineer inside Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment plant.
A handout picture provided by the Iranian presidential office on April 10, 2021, shows a grab of a videoconference screen of an engineer inside Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment plant.Iranian Presidency / AFP

Iran started enriching uranium with one of three cascades of advanced IR-6 centrifuges recently installed at its underground enrichment plant at Natanz, a report said on Monday. 

According to the UN atomic watchdog report to member states seen by Reuters, the cascade of up to 174 machines is being used to enrich uranium up to five percent purity. 

Another IR-6 cascade at the underground facility is undergoing passivation, which is a process preceding enrichment. The third cascade has not been yet filled with nuclear material, the report said. 

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has previously reported that Iran’s nuclear program was developing “very fast,” urging Tehran to be transparent about its efforts on enriching uranium, which was up to 60 percent fissile purity.

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Last week, Iran asked IAEA to drop the issue of three undeclared sites, as the deal is emerging between Tehran and world powers to revive the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, which Israel strongly opposed. 

Earlier in June, the IAEA adopted a resolution censuring Iran for “lack of cooperation” and failing to explain the previous discovery of traces of enriched uranium at three sites. which Tehran had not declared as having hosted nuclear activities.

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