IAEA officially confirms the start of new nuclear activities by Iran

Tabnak – The announcement of the third step of Iran’s revision in its nuclear commitments coincided with an official visit of the IAEA’ acting director general to Tehran. Now the UN nuclear agency has issued a report, confirming the installation of advanced centrifuges by Iran.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed that Iran is installing advanced centrifuges after warning signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal that the clock is ticking for them to salvage the accord.

In a statement issued on Monday, the United Nations nuclear agency said it has "verified that the following centrifuges were either installed or being installed...: 22 IR-4, one IR-5, 30 IR-6 and three IR-6s".

In its statement, the IAEA said the centrifuges had been installed at the Natanz facility. All of the installed centrifuges, it said, had been prepared for testing with UF6 (uranium hexafluoride), "although none of them were being tested with UF6 on 7 and 8 September 2019."

Iran has informed the agency in a letter dated September 8 that “it would reinstall the piping at two R&D lines to accommodate a cascade of 164 IR-4 centrifuges and a cascade of 164 IR-2m centrifuges,” the statement added.

Later on Monday, the acting head of the UN nuclear watchdog called on Iran to "respond promptly" to the agency's questions regarding Tehran's nuclear program, AFP reported. Feruta made the remarks while addressing the quarterly meeting of IAEA's Board of Governors a day after meeting high-level Iranian officials in Tehran.

The IAEA head said during his meetings in Tehran he "stressed the need for Iran to respond promptly to Agency questions related to the completeness of Iran's safeguards declarations," adding, "Time is of the essence."

“Yesterday, I visited Tehran for talks with senior Iranian officials. We discussed IAEA verification and monitoring activities under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as well as safeguards implementation pursuant to Iran’s Safeguards Agreement and Additional Protocol,” he said in his statement.

Feruta added, “The Agency continues to verify and monitor Iran’s nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA…. The Agency continues to verify the non-diversion of nuclear material declared by Iran under its Safeguards Agreement. Evaluations regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran continue.”

He concluded his remarks on Iran by saying, “The Agency’s work related to nuclear verification is always consistent with our mandate and established safeguards practice. It is independent, impartial, factual and professional. We will continue to work in this manner, which is essential for maintaining the Agency’s credibility, both now and in the future.”