TEHRAN (Iran News) –Iran started enriching uranium to the purity level of 60% at its Fordow nuclear facility following the recent resolution that the US and the European troika initiated at the UN nuclear agency’s Board of Governors to mount pressures on the Islamic Republic.
According to a report published by Student News Network news agency, Tehran has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of its decision in a letter sent to the United Nations’ atomic watchdog.
It described the move to enrich uranium up to 60% purity as a strong message to the recent anti-Iran resolution passed by IAEA’s Board of Governors.
Iran’s other action included installation of two new IR2M and IR4 cascades at Natanz and Fardow facilities, which have now reached the stage prior to the injection of uranium gas into centrifuges. This means that Iran has practically imitated uranium enrichment by means of the new cascades, and the process will finish within the next few days.
Moreover, Iran has fitted and launched new centrifuges at two empty halls in Fardow and Natanz nuclear sites, in what is deemed as a decisive response to the resolution against the country.
The halls, under Iran’s commitment to the terms of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), had been vacant, but centrifuges have been installed there once again.
The report went on to point to the replacement of IR1 centrifuges at Fordow nuclear facility with IR6 as Iran’s fourth important move against the IAEA resolution, stressing that the measure will increase enrichment at the site by 10 times.
The latest measures are said to be in line with a law approved by the Iranian Parliament to counter unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union and the IAEA on Tehran to their full extent.
In December 2020, the Iranian Parliament passed a law – dubbed the Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions – that prompted the Iranian administration to restrict the IAEA’s inspections and accelerate the development of the country’s nuclear program beyond the limits set by the JCPOA.
Iran took five steps in scaling back its obligations, among them abandoning operational limitations on its nuclear industry, including with regard to the capacity and level of uranium enrichment.
All those measures were adopted after informing the IAEA beforehand, with the Agency’s inspectors present on the ground in Iran.
The recent anti-Iran resolution at the UN nuclear agency’s Board of Governors, ratified on Thursday, has criticized Iran for what it called a lack of cooperation with the agency. It was put forward by the United States, Britain, France and Germany, in continuation of their political pressures on Iran. Russia and China voted against the motion.
