Iran Informs IAEA of Plan to Increase Enrichment With New Centrifuges

Improved centrifuges will be installed at Fordow site

According to Reuters, a new IAEA report details Iran’s plan to install advanced new IR-6 centrifuges at the underground Fordow enrichment site.

The IAEA is still seeking details. The new centrifuges are meant to be able to easily switch between levels, and can go from 5% to 20% enrichment easily. The IAEA is not clear which level they will initially be used for.

Neither of these enrichment levels is anywhere near a proliferation risk at far below the 90% considered weapons-grade. Though some nations express concern about the ease of switching levels, there is nothing illegal about it.

As with everything else done lately, this is seen as part of Iran’s retaliation for the IAEA rebuke resolution a couple of weeks prior. Iran has emphasized such moves are entirely reversible if a new nuclear deal is reached which precludes any of these activities.

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.