Security

Iran announces sharp rise in enriched uranium production

Salaam Times and AFP

Iranian army officers line up at a graduation event in Iran on October 30. [Iranian Ministry of Defence]

Iranian army officers line up at a graduation event in Iran on October 30. [Iranian Ministry of Defence]

TEHRAN -- Iran announced Monday (November 4) a more than tenfold increase in enriched uranium production following a series of steps back from commitments under a 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran has developed two new advanced centrifuges, one of which is undergoing testing, said Ali Akbar Salehi, director of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran.

Enriched uranium production has reached 5kg per day, Salehi told reporters at the Natanz facility in central Iran in remarks broadcast by state TV.

That compares with the level of 450 grammes two months ago when it abandoned a number of commitments made under a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.

Tehran decided in May to suspend certain commitments under the accord.

Surging uranium production

On July 1, Iran said it had increased its stockpile of enriched uranium to beyond a 300kg maximum set by the deal, and a week later, it announced it had exceeded a 3.67% cap on the purity of its uranium stocks.

It fired up advanced centrifuges to boost its enriched uranium stockpiles on September 7.

Iranian engineers "have successfully built a prototype of IR-9, which is our newest machine, and also a model of a new machine called IR-s ... all these in two months", said Salehi.

Iran has removed all of its nuclear deal-approved IR-1 centrifuges and is using only advanced machines, leading to the sharp increase in enriched uranium production, he added.

Tensions in the Gulf region spiked in July when the US Navy destroyed an Iranian drone after it threatened an American naval vessel at the entrance of the Strait of Hormuz, following the seizure of a British oil tanker by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

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Great, may God turn it to your success. Again (Tehran-- Iran announced a tenfold increase on enriched uranium on Monday November 4 after a series of withdrawal actions from 2015 accord commitments.) Have a lot of achievements. Be successful, glorious and honorable. Actually, all Islamic countries should be in high position and power so that they do not bow down to any western country. They should extract whatever they have in their own countries so that all the people of the countries benefit it, and the other people and nations of their countries do not get obliged to go to western countries as Iran achieved this. (Iran said on June 22 that the enriched uranium stockpiles of the country have increased from the maximum of 300 kilo gram that was specified in the accord. And a it announced week later that the country increased its pure uranium stockpiles to 3.67%. To strengthen its enriched uranium stockpiles, The country purified sophisticated centrifuges. All the Islamic countries should also achieve this. These types of achievements cause that Islamic countries become pioneers everywhere. And it is necessary on every Islamic country that they should utilize their own fuel and gas that they have. As Iran produced this pride. Speaker Saamey

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