The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, announced that there are 1,044 centrifuges currently working on enriching uranium at the Fordo facility, as part of his country's reduction of its obligations towards the nuclear deal.
Iran had announced in early November that it would resume uranium enrichment activities at the underground facility in Fordo, south of Tehran, in a new step and as part of its response to the US withdrawal in 2018 from the agreement on the Iranian nuclear program that was concluded between Tehran and the major countries in 2015. .
France, Germany, Britain and the European Union expressed at the time "grave concern" about Iran's announcement of resuming enrichment activities in Fordow, about 180 km south of Tehran.
After its withdrawal from the nuclear deal, the administration of US President Donald Trump re-imposed all economic sanctions on Iran, pursuing a policy of "maximum pressure" on Tehran.
Akbar Salehi said, "Iran has completed the fourth step to reduce its commitment to the nuclear deal, and accordingly, enrichment will be carried out through 1,044 centrifuges at the Fordo nuclear site," according to what was reported by the Shura Council news agency, ICANA, on Sunday night.
"We had pledged, according to the nuclear agreement, not to use this number in the field of enrichment, but according to the programs to reduce pledges towards the agreement, the enrichment will be done based on the country's need," he added.
And the same official had announced earlier this month that Tehran had embarked on a project to build "advanced" centrifuges "in the heart of the mountains" near the Nazz facility, where an explosion occurred recently in a building designed to manufacture such devices.
In early September, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium is now 10 times the limit stipulated in the 2015 agreement.
The Trump administration tightened its pressure on Tehran (Reuters)
Pressures and guarantees
In recent months, the Trump administration tried to tighten its pressure on Iran, but Washington received a blow last August when the Security Council failed in its attempt to re-impose international sanctions on Tehran as part of a mechanism known as "Snapback" included in the text of the nuclear agreement.
In a recent meeting in Vienna, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia - which are still committed to the nuclear deal - announced that they wanted to find a way to ensure "its full implementation despite the current challenges."
These developments come as the International Court of Justice begins today, Monday, its sessions on the issue of its jurisdiction to consider the complaint filed by Iran against the re-imposition of US sanctions.
The sessions - which last for a week - begin this afternoon, via the Internet, with the first round of US arguments.
Iranian representatives will then present their justifications on Wednesday, and the judges will announce their decision on this issue at a later date.