Iran has doubled its nuclear enrichment capacity: IAEA

In a report published on Friday, the United Nations nuclear watchdog said that Iran had finished installing centrifuges at a fortified underground facility and can sharply increase production of enriched uranium to a purity level of 20 percent, the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday.
According to the report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has prepared 700 more centrifuges at the Fordo uranium enrichment facility for operation since August, doubling the plant’s enrichment capacity.

The report says Iran has installed 2,800 centrifuges at Fordo, the total the facility is designed to hold. But half are not ready to begin operation.

Iran insists its nuclear program is only for peaceful uses. But certain countries claim that it may be seeking to develop nuclear weapons, and the five members of the UN Security Council plus Germany have tried to persuade Iran to accept curbs on the effort.

The six countries made little headway in negotiations with Iran this year, but the group will meet next week in Brussels with Catherine Ashton, the European Union foreign policy chief, to set plans to resume talks with Iran.

The IAEA, based in Vienna, said Iran has expanded its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium by 43 kilograms since August, to a total of 233 kilograms. At the same time, Iran has diverted 96 kilograms of the total for use as civilian reactor fuel.

The IAEA report suggests Iran is not slowing its program but is poised to accelerate its output.