Iran Says 1,044 Centrifuges Active at Fordow Enrichment Site

Nuclear chief promises to walk-back steps if deal is reached

Keeping up with public announcements of their civilian nuclear program, Iranian nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi announced over the weekend that the Fordow underground site now has 1,044 centrifuges actively enriching uranium.

Iran resumed activities in Fordow in November, as part of its pressure to get the other parties of the P5+1 nuclear deal, and Salehi said that all the centrifuges would be shut off and walked back if deals are ultimately reached.

When Iran was unable to get immediate negotiations after the US withdrew from the deal in 2018, they started warning of withdrawing from voluntary parts of the deal, and later from stockpile and centrifuge limits, things which could easily be reversed once the differences on sanctions relief are sorted.

With nothing worked out yet, Iran has kept increasing enrichment, and its stockpile has gotten large, though it remains at civilian levels. This has led the US to be even more critical of the nuclear deal, though ironically it was their pullout that put the whole sanctions relief clause into dispute.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.