Iran to begin enriching uranium with thousands of advanced centrifuges, UN watchdog says

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — 

Iran volition statesman enriching uranium with thousands of precocious centrifuges astatine its 2 main atomic facilities astatine Fordo and Natanz, the United Nations' atomic watchdog said Friday, further raising tensions implicit Tehran's programme arsenic it enriches astatine adjacent weapons-grade levels.

The announcement from the International Atomic Energy Agency lone mentioned Iran enriching uranium with caller centrifuges to 5% purity, acold little than the 60% it presently does — apt signaling that it inactive wants to negociate with the West and the incoming medication of President-elect Donald Trump.

However, it remains unclear however Trump volition attack Iran erstwhile helium enters office, peculiarly arsenic it continues to endanger to onslaught Israel amid its warfare connected Hamas successful the Gaza Strip and conscionable aft a ceasefire started successful its run successful Lebanon. Trump withdrew America from the accord successful 2018.

Iran's ngo to the United Nations did not respond to a petition for remark implicit the IAEA's report. Tehran had threatened to rapidly beforehand its programme aft the Board of Governors astatine the IAEA condemned Iran astatine a gathering successful November for failing to cooperate afloat with the agency.

In a statement, the IAEA outlined the plans Iran informed it about, which see feeding uranium into immoderate 45 cascades of its precocious IR-2M, IR-4 and IR-6 centrifuges.

Cascades are a radical of centrifuges that rotation uranium state unneurotic to much rapidly enrich the uranium. Each of these precocious classes of centrifuges enrich uranium faster than Iran’s baseline IR-1 centrifuges, which person been the workhorse of the country’s atomic program. The IAEA did not elaborate connected however galore machines would beryllium successful each cascade, but Iran has enactment astir 160 centrifuges into a azygous cascade successful the past.

It's unclear if Iran has begun feeding the uranium yet into the centrifuges. Tehran truthful acold has been vague astir its plans. But starting the enrichment astatine 5% gives Tehran some leverage astatine negotiations with the West and different mode to dial up the unit if they don't similar what they hear. Weapons-grade levels of enrichment are astir 90%.

Since the illness of Iran’s 2015 atomic woody with satellite powers pursuing the United States’ unilateral withdrawal from the accord successful 2018, it has pursued atomic enrichment conscionable beneath weapons-grade levels. U.S. quality agencies and others measure that Iran has yet to statesman a weapons program.

The U.S. State Department said successful a connection to The Associated Press it was “deeply acrophobic with Iran’s announcement that it is choosing the way of continued escalation arsenic opposed to practice with the IAEA.”

"Iran’s continued accumulation and accumulation of uranium enriched up to 60% has nary credible civilian justification," it added.

Iran, arsenic a signatory to the Treaty connected the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, has pledged to let the IAEA to sojourn its atomic sites to guarantee its programme is peaceful. Tehran besides had agreed to further oversight from the IAEA arsenic portion of the 2015 atomic deal, which saw sanctions lifted successful speech for drastically limiting its program.

However, for years Iran has curtailed inspectors’ entree to sites, portion besides not afloat answering questions astir different sites wherever atomic worldly has been recovered successful the past aft the deal's collapse.

Iranian officials successful caller months, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian, had signaled a willingness to negociate with the West. But Iran besides has launched 2 attacks connected Israel amid the war.

Kazem Gharibabadi, an Iranian diplomat, said successful a station connected the societal level that helium met with EU diplomat Enrique Mora, criticizing Europe arsenic being “self-centered" portion having "irresponsible behavior.”

“With respect to the atomic contented of Iran, Europe has failed to beryllium a superior subordinate owed to deficiency of self-confidence and responsibility,” Gharibabadi wrote.

For his part, Mora described having a “frank discussion” with Gharibabadi and different Iranian diplomat. Those talks included “Iran’s subject enactment to Russia that has to stop, the atomic contented that needs a diplomatic solution, determination tensions (important to debar further escalation from each sides) and quality rights,” helium wrote connected X.