Iran: Tehran accelerates its nuclear enrichment program

Satellite view of the Fordo underground nuclear site in Iran (illustration image).

PA

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

In the midst of a political crisis after two months of demonstrations and increasingly harsh repression, particularly in Kurdistan, Tehran has decided to accelerate its nuclear program.

The move comes in response to the recent IAEA Board of Governors resolution, put forward by the United States, France, Britain and Germany, which had condemned Iran and demanded greater cooperation.

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With our correspondent in Tehran,

This is a real point of no return, because Iran has increased its level of uranium enrichment from 20% to 60% in the Fordo site.

Located several dozen kilometers from Tehran, the site is buried under the mountains and cannot be destroyed by bombing.

Iran was already doing 60% enrichment in

, the country's other enrichment site.

New centrifuges

Then, two new cascades of IR-2 and IR-4 centrifuges will come into operation within a few days at Natanz.

They are much more powerful and faster than the old ones.

Third measure, Fordo's 1044 IR-1 centrifuges will be replaced by IR-6 centrifuges, which are ten times faster and more powerful.

Finally, modern centrifuges will be gradually installed in two living rooms in Natanz and Fordo kept empty, in accordance with the 2015 nuclear agreement.

According to the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran already has enough enriched uranium

.

With these new measures, Iran's capability will further increase.

This represents a new challenge for Western countries.

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• Iran

• Nuclear