“Given their high significance, centrifuge machines were moved to a safer location and are now in operation,” the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Behrouz Kamalvandi, said in an exclusive interview with Iran’s al-Alam TV on Saturday.

He added that Iran has plans to develop and manufacture centrifuge machines and to boost their security.

“Following the terrorist operation against TESA Karaj Complex, we had to tighten security measures. We moved a significant part of these machines and transferred the rest to Natanz and Isfahan,” Kamalvandi said.

He noted that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has presented two reports; one when the machines were being transferred and the other one at the time that the cameras installed at Natanz facility became operational.

Given the ambiguities that have been raised in the reports, Iran explained that all the measures taken have been in line with the agreements reached with the IAEA, the AEOI spokesman noted.

He, however, emphasized that the UN nuclear agency will have no access to data recorded by its surveillance cameras until Iran and the P4+1 group of countries reach an agreement on the revival of the 2015 deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

On Thursday, Iran’s acting ambassador to the IAEA Mohammad Reza Ghaebi said the latest report by the agency confirms that Iran had informed the IAEA on April 4 that all the machines for centrifuge production had been transferred from Karaj to Natanz, letting the inspectors verify, on the same day, that the machines were not operating.

“The Agency will have no access to information recorded on the memory of its cameras and as long as Iran has not returned to full compliance with the JCPOA, that information would not be made available to the Agency and will be stored in Iran,” Ghaebi added.

In a statement on January 31, the IAEA said Iran has informed the agency that it will move the production of centrifuge rotor tubes and bellows from TESA Karaj Complex to the central city of Isfahan.

The IAEA confirmed that Iran has informed the agency that it can adjust its surveillance and monitoring measures accordingly, noting that the production of centrifuge rotor tubes and bellows at TESA Karaj Complex has been ceased.

Under a law passed by the Iranian Parliament in December 2020, the AEOI was tasked with restricting the IAEA inspections and accelerating the development of the country’s nuclear program beyond the limits set by the 2015 Iran agreement.

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“At the Karaj nuclear facility, we don’t have nuclear material, and that’s why the site is not subject to the Safeguard Agreement. We produce centrifuges there. They say Iran is producing advanced centrifuges in the Karaj facility. Yes, we do not shy away from this fact,” Behrouz Kamalvandi said in an interview with Iran’s official TV on Thursday.

“Thank God, we are able to produce such centrifuges at a high capacity, and we do not get permission from anyone for this,” he said, explaining that Iran is entitled to producing advanced centrifuges without having to endure any limits under Article 4 of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Kamalvandi also criticized the IAEA over its prejudiced approach toward Iran’s civilian nuclear program, saying the United Nations’ nuclear agency is under the influence of major world powers.

Kamalvandi made the remarks days after Rafael Grossi director general of the IAEA visited Tehran in the wake of November 29 Vienna talks aimed at removing U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Iran and six world powers – the US, Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany – reached a nuclear agreement in 2015 to remove international sanctions against the Islamic Republic in exchange for certain caps on the country’s nuclear program.

Despite repeated reports by the IAEA that certified Iran’s full compliance with the deal – officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – the US unilaterally withdrew from the accord and reinstated harsh economic sanctions.

In recent days, as the world awaits a new round of talks aimed at removing U.S. sanctions and reviving the JCPOA, Iran has called on the IAEA to refrain from politicizing technical matters that could be resolved otherwise.

“It is a fact that the IAEA has not treated Iran as it should,” Kamalvandi said. “We have been constantly pointed this out and issued warnings.”

Nevertheless, he continued, Iran has continued to strive and secure its rights and nullify the world powers’ plots to establish the accusation that Iran was seeking nuclear weapons.

“Of course, they ultimately want to say, ‘because Iran is looking for a nuclear weapon, it must not acquire a nuclear weapon,’” he said, adding that Tehran, despite knowing that the IAEA is under the influence of big powers, will not stop its cooperation with the UN nuclear agency.

In an escalation just a few days before the resumption of the Vienna talks, the U.S. threatened on Thursday to confront Iran at the IAEA next month if it does not cooperate more with the watchdog.

“If Iran’s non-cooperation is not immediately remedied … the Board will have no choice but to reconvene in extraordinary session before the end of this year in order to address the crisis,” U.S. chargé d’affaires in Vienna Louis Bono said at an IAEA Board of Governors meeting.

Bono claimed that Iran “has still not provided the necessary cooperation, even after extensive attempts by the [IAEA] director general to develop a constructive relationship with Iran’s new leadership.”

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Iran marked National Nuclear Technology Day on Saturday during which the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) unveiled a number of new progresses in nuclear industry. President Hassan Rouhani inspected a number of new machineries and equipment used in nuclear industry.

“A large part of 133 achievements that the president talked about today is about nuclear fuel. More than 50% of nuclear achievements relates to agriculture, among other fields,” Salehi said.

He clarified with an example about nuclear radiation in agriculture, saying, “It can be referred to the rice that has recently been provided to farmers. This rice has high yield and acceptable resistance to drought. Or we can name the radiation systems as other types of nuclear achievements related to agriculture. Radiation systems that can be used to sterilize and extend the life of agricultural products. Radiation can prevent dates from rotting for several months.”

He also pointed to the existence of a special centrifuge in the blood bank of the health sector, saying, “This centrifuge was previously supposed to be imported from Germany, but after passing many tests, our centrifuge managed to enter the country’s blood bank.”

Salehi described centrifuges as one of the requirements for making the COVID-19 vaccine, and the Atomic Energy Organization, through one of its companies, was able to provide the desired centrifuge for the Barekat Pharmaceutical Company.

Barekat Pharmaceutical Company is working on COVID-19 vaccine. Its vaccines are going to be administered by mid-June.

Salehi, a nuclear physicist, also pointed to the production of titanium used in medical science for the first time in the country.

“In the field of radiopharmaceuticals, good accomplishments have been achieved so that the number of these radiopharmaceuticals is increasing every year. If we have to import it from abroad, we have to pay 15,000 Euros for each dose. This radiopharmaceutical has had positive responses in the treatment of prostate.”

He also pointed out that the Tetra project is underway in Iran.

“In this project, about 60 million Euros worth of equipment has been purchased for the production of radiopharmaceuticals. The production of these radiopharmaceuticals is done as standard or GMP. The project building is as big as 37,000 meters, which is being completed, and the first phase of this project will probably be launched in September. This project is unique in West Asia. Iran currently exports radiopharmaceuticals to many countries, including India, Pakistan, Iraq and Syria, and some European countries.”

He went on to say after the completion of the Tetra project in September, Iran will be the “largest exporter of radiopharmaceuticals in the world.”

The nuclear chief said that “ion therapy” is the latest method for treating a large number of cancers.

“We are the first in West Asia,” he said.

The AEOI chief elaborated on the progresses Iran has made throughout the years in nuclear science industry, stating, “We currently have software with which we design centrifuges of about 500,000 lines. We now have the ability to design centrifuges with different capacities, but this does not mean that these designs will work immediately. It will take about 15 years, because in Europe there is a French company responsible for setting up and operating centrifuges, and they do that in 10 years of time.”

The nuclear chief went on to discuss the latest accomplishments in the field of centrifuges.

“To date, we have about 15 types of centrifuges; IRS, IR9, IR8. As new centrifuges, IR5 and IR6 are among them. The complete IR6 chain was launched today (Saturday), while it should have been launched in the next eight years, but now the chain is on the verge of industrialization, although according to the law passed by the parliament, we have to launch 1000 IR6 centrifuges and install them within a year,” he said.

Salehi added, “In this regard, 164 centrifuges were launched and unveiled today, two waterfalls will be launched in Fordow soon, and IR6 waterfalls will be launched in Natanz.”

On the explosion of centrifuge assembly hall 10 months ago which the AEOI said was a sabotage act, Salehi said, “We did not stop and today we were able to temporarily set up a replacement hall for the exploded hall. We are currently working day and night to build all of our assembly halls in the heart of the mountains around Natanz ourselves. We hope that next year, these halls in the heart of the mountain will be ready and the facilities will be moved there.”

Iran’s next calendar year will start on March 21, 2022.

On 2 July 2020, an explosion hit a centrifuge assembly facility in the Natanz nuclear facility. Israel is being seen as the main suspect for the vicious act.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran starts injecting gas into next generation centrifuges. Iran has officially started injecting gas into next-generation centrifuges at Natanz Nuclear Facility, in a ceremony attended by President Hassan Rouhani through videoconference.

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The announcement was made by Ali Asqar Zare’an, the assistant head of the AEOI on Saturday.

“50 new achievements will be unveiled on April 9, including new generations of centrifuges system and power plant heavy water,” the Fars news agency quoted Zare’an as saying in a ceremony in Karaj, a city in the west of Tehran.

April 9 is marked as National Nuclear Technology Day in Iran.

He also said that the Arak heavy water reactor will start new activities next year.

Zare’an added that the enemies are angry that Iran has full control over the nuclear fuel cycle.

Last month, Iran started to inject uranium gas into centrifuges at the Fordow nuclear facility under the supervision of inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog.

It was the latest move by Iran to reduce its nuclear commitments in retaliation to the U.S. exit from the 2015 nuclear deal and restoration of previous sanctions and adding new ones, including a ban on Iran’s oil export.

“At the presence of inspectors from International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran started injecting (uranium) gas into centrifuges in Fordow,” the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said.

According to Al Jazeera, a spokesman for the IAEA said the UN nuclear watchdog’s nuclear inspectors at the site “will report back on relevant activities”.

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According To Iran News, Iran on Monday unveiled a chain of 30 IR-6 centrifuge machines for uranium enrichment at the Natanz nuclear site.

The new chain of homegrown centrifuges was inaugurated by Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi.

Speaking to reporters at the ceremony, Salehi said the new centrifuge machines are being tested at a section called S8 –a research and development division- before being held in place.

The official also highlighted the great achievements of local nuclear scientists and experts, saying some 15 centrifuges of the new generation have been assembled over the past two months.

According to Salehi, Iran’s uranium enrichment capacity has reached 8,660 SWU (Separative Work Unit).

The daily output of uranium enriched in Iran was around 450 grams before the third step in a phased reduction of the country’s commitments to the 2015 nuclear deal, Salehi said, noting that the output now exceeds 5 kilograms a day.

The nuclear official added that the total number of IR-6 centrifuges spinning in Iran stands at around 60 at present, increasing the uranium enrichment capacity by 600 SWU.

Salehi also explained that the chain of 30 IR-6 centrifuges was not supposed to be unveiled at the present time, but a political challenge convinced Iran’s top authorities to order the inauguration of the chain to display the country’s power and capabilities.

Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, US, Britain, France, and Germany) on July 14, 2015, reached a conclusion over the text of the nuclear deal.

The accord took effect in January 2016 and was supposed to terminate all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran all at once, but its implementation was hampered by the US policies and its eventual withdrawal from the deal.

In May 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the nuclear accord.

Following the US withdrawal, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the deal.

However, the EU’s failure to ensure Iran’s economic interests forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments, including an unlimited rise in the stockpile of enriched uranium.

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On the ion therapy center, the Iran nuclear chief hoped that the hospital would be inaugurated within next five years.

He pointed out that the work on building two nuclear power plants, which started two years ago with an estimated cost of $ 10 billion, will continue.

Salehi further rejected the claims that Iran stopped its nuclear industry after signing JCPOA, noting “I would like to explicitly tell the people that we will continue our movement towards fulfilling our nuclear objectives and we have never stopped and will never stop in the future.”

Elsewhere, he said that the nuclear agency used to produce 10 tons of uranium for years, while the volume amounted to 30 tons last year.

Salehi emphasized that production of uranium may increase to 50 tons if the current trend continues.

He further noted that Iran installed 20 IR6 centrifuges in the first month of this Iranian year (March 22-April 22, 2019) despite the Europeans’ protest.

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The Velayaee Faction head, Hamidreza Hajibabaei quoted Salehi as saying in the today’s meeting that if Iran had left the JCPOA immediately after the US withdrawal, the Americans with the support of Europe would have been able to form a global coalition against Iran and would have revived all the previous UN resolutions.

The Iran nuclear chief added that the decisions that Iran has made so far in reaction to the US illegal withdrawal and lack of action on the part of other parties to make up for Iran’s losses are made by a committee dubbed the JCPOA Implementation Monitoring Board which was formed at the behest of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei in the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) after signing the accord.

Hajibabaei further cited Salehi as adding that Iran’s remaining in the nuclear deal did not allow the formation of the global coalition and has made the enemies acknowledge Iran’s power on the global stage.

“We have built a hall to assemble advanced and new centrifuges in which about 20 IR6 centrifuges have been already assembled. We have the capability to return to pre-JCPOA era and you will soon hear good news about Arak,” Salehi said.

The lawmaker further noted Salehi had said that the Iranian scientists at the atomic agency had made good progress in the field of nuclear propellers and that the volume of the enriched uranium had increased to 370 kg from 300 kg.

He also added that the Iranian young experts had been working on IR6 and IR7 types of centrifuges with work on IR8 centrifuges on their agenda.

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In comments at an exhibition in Iran’s western city of Sanandaj on Sunday, Ali Asghar Zarean said only 720 centrifuges were spinning at the Fordow site before the beginning of nuclear negotiations with the world powers that led to the 2015 deal, but the number has now reached 1,044.

He also noted that 10 generations of centrifuges have come into existence in the world so far, and Iran has brought seven of those generations into operation.

Highlighting the AEOI’s plans to explore and extract uranium and other nuclear materials, Zarean said 85 percent of the entire area of Iran has been scanned for nuclear substances, rare-earth elements (REEs), gold, silver and water to a depth of 4,000 meters.

Iran extracts 50 tons of uranium or yellow cake from the earth annually, he added.

Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, US, Britain, France, and Germany) on July 14, 2015, reached a conclusion over the text of the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The accord took effect in January 2016 and was supposed to terminate all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran all at once, but its implementation was hampered by the US policies and its eventual withdrawal from the deal.

On May 8, 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the nuclear accord.

Following the US withdrawal, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the accord.

However, the EU’s failure of ensure Iran’s economic interests forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments under JCPOA in May 2019.

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