The report said Iran had begun enriching uranium using one of three sets of advanced centrifuges (IR-6) that Tehran had recently installed at its underground enrichment plant in Natanz..
The modern generation of centrifuges
Diplomats say the IR-6 is Iran’s most advanced and far more efficient model of centrifuge than the first-generation IR-1, and is the only model that the deal allows Iran to use for enrichment..
Iran has been using IR-6 centrifuges for more than a year to enrich uranium to 60 percent, close to the purity needed for weapons, at an above-ground plant in Natanz..
Iran has recently expanded its level of uranium enrichment using IR-6 machines at other sites. Last month, a second series of IR-6, at the Fordow site inside Jebel, began enriching uranium to up to 20 percent..
A step backwards in light of the aspiration for a new nuclear agreement
Iran and the United States appear to be heading towards consensus on reviving the 2015 agreement that imposed restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear activities in return for the lifting of sanctions. That agreement collapsed after the US withdrawal in 2018 prompted Iran to breach those restrictions one by one.
After more than a year of indirect talks, Iran said it would soon respond to the latest US comments on a compromise text offered by the European Union, which is coordinating the talks..
The deal would include rolling back much of Iran’s enrichment work and capping enrichment at 3.67 percent purity..
But its installation of advanced devices in underground sites such as Natanz and Fordow could be a signal to any force that might want to attack them in the event of a no-deal, because it is unclear whether air strikes on those sites would be effective..
Western countries are concerned about Iran’s tendency to acquire the ability to make nuclear bombs. Iran denies any such intention.
Why this Iranian move? .. Investigations and political pressures
The case of the International Atomic Energy Agency threatens to prevent the revival of the 2015 agreement that former US President Donald Trump withdrew from in 2018. The agreement provided for reducing Iran its nuclear program in exchange for the easing of sanctions imposed on it by the United States, the European Union and the United Nations.
After withdrawing from the agreement, Trump reimposed US sanctions on Iranprompting Tehran to resume previously banned nuclear activities in measures that revived American, European and Israeli fears that Iran You might be seeking an atomic bomb. and deny Iran No such ambition.
sought Iran to use talks on reviving the 2015 deal to persuade the IAEA to close investigations.
The investigations mainly relate to what appear to be ancient sites dating back to before or around 2003, which US intelligence agencies and the Atomic Energy Agency believe are. Iran It halted a coordinated program to build nuclear weapons.
and deny Iran The existence of such a program in the first place, but information, including materials that Israel says it seized from an “archive” IranThe previous activities raise questions about the matter.
Iran nuclear scenarios
In view of the Western refusal to commit to closing the investigations on a specific date and insistence, Iran Although it will not fully implement the agreement if investigations remain open, there appear to be at least four possible scenarios:
- The first scenario is to agree Iran To allay the IAEA’s concerns in time and thus revive the 2015 agreement.
- The second is not to meet Iran The agency’s demands and refuses to take the necessary steps to complete the agreement, and Washington will refuse to lift the sanctions stipulated in the final phase of the proposed agreement.
- The third scenario is that you commit Iran The terms of the agreement even if the IAEA’s investigations remain open, a step backwards but which may be difficult for leaders to follow.IranYin accepting it or promoting its significance within.
- The fourth scenario revolves around the IAEA being subjected to political pressure that may force it to close investigations even if it is not satisfied with the explanations Iranalthough US officials say they will not put pressure on the agency.
Even if a settlement is reached to revive the nuclear deal, it is likely that it will not be implemented, said Henry Rohm, an analyst at Eurasia Group.
“But there will be more uncertainty than in 2015,” he added.
Natanz.. facts about Iran’s nuclear nerve
- Many of the centrifuges at the facility were built by a local Iranian company known as “TSA” that serves as the designer and manufacturer of different generations of those machines..
- The date of the inauguration of this facility, 155 miles south of the capital, Tehran, dates back to the beginning of the current millennium, specifically in 2000, and only two years later, the first stages of installing centrifuges began in it in 2002..
- Previous reports indicate that part of the facility is located underground at depths of about 8 meters and continues to expand to a depth of more than 30 meters..
- The facility consists of three underground buildings, two of which are designed to hold 50,000 centrifuges and six above-ground buildings, two of which are 2,500-meter halls used for gas centrifuge assemblies..
- “Natanz” includes a feeding unit used in uranium enrichment operations, a centrifuge hall, a production unit and a control room.
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