Iran Ends Production at Karaj Centrifuge Workshop

IAEA places seals, removes cameras

According to IAEA reports, Iran’s Karaj centrifuge workshop has been shuttered, and all production ceased. The IAEA has removed its cameras from the facility, and placed seals over the equipment.

This ends a tumultuous half year for Karaj, sabotaged by Israel in June. Getting replacement IAEA cameras into the site took months, and a lot of disputes over the status of the monitoring agreement.

Iran informed the IAEA earlier this month that rotor tube production for centrifuges is being moved to Esfahan. The IAEA installed cameras at the new production site last week, but production has yet to begin.

There is a lot of speculation as to why Iran moved production, though they aren’t obliged to offer an explanation. Karaj is close to Tehran, and Esfahan is a distance south, so it may be a matter of securitys concern after past Israeli attacks.

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.