Iran plans to install new generation of centrifuges

Atomic Energy Organization of Iran has announced that it plans to install a new generation of centrifuges at the country’s nuclear enrichment facilities, MP Mansour Haqiqatpour said
The deputy chairman of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee said, “Atomic Energy Organization and the Foreign Ministry spokesperson have officially announced that Iran intends to use new centrifuges.”

“We are not supposed to regulate the country’s scientific progress according to the Americans’ positive or negative views,” he said in reference to the remarks by a number of Western officials about Iran’s decision to install new centrifuges, adding, “They are angered over Iran’s increased technological capability, but they should be sure that Iran will not abandon its national interests.”

Reuters reported on Thursday that Iran had announced it planned to install advanced uranium enrichment machines at the Natanz nuclear plant, in what would be a technological leap allowing it to significantly speed up uranium enrichment activity.

In a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Tehran said it would introduce new centrifuges to its main enrichment plant near the central town of Natanz, according to an IAEA communication to member states seen by Reuters.

The report also said that it was not clear how many of the upgraded centrifuges Iran aimed to put in place at Natanz, which is designed for tens of thousands of machines, but the wording of the IAEA’s note implied it could be up to roughly 3,000.

The United States said on Thursday that installation of new Iranian centrifuges would be a “provocative step”.

“This does not come as a surprise,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters in Washington.

“It is certainly a provocation to increase any enrichment capacity at all,” a senior Western diplomat said.

Iran’s announcement coincides with wrangling between Tehran and six world powers over when and where to meet next, delaying a resumption of talks aimed at reaching a negotiated deal.

The powers – the United States, France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China – want Iran to scale back its enrichment to ensure it remains within peaceful dimensions and submit to stricter UN nuclear inspections.

Iran asserts a right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes and has repeatedly refused to halt the work, a stance underlined anew by its new centrifuge plans.