Iran further expands its nuclear capabilities: UN Watchdog

Vienna:

Iran is further expanding its nuclear capabilities, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday, a week after the agency’s board of governors approved a resolution criticizing Tehran’s lack of cooperation with the nuclear watchdog. of the UN.

The IAEA informed its members that Tehran told the agency it was installing more cascades at the Natanz and Fordow enrichment facilities, according to a statement sent to AFP.

A cascade is a series of centrifuges, machines used in the uranium enrichment process. A diplomatic source considered this development as “moderate”.

The motion tabled by Britain, France and Germany – but opposed by China and Russia – at the IAEA’s 35-nation governing board last week was the first of its kind since November 2022.

The resolution – which Tehran called “hasty and reckless” – came amid a standoff over Iran’s escalating nuclear activities and as Western powers fear Tehran may be trying to develop a nuclear weapon, a claim Iran denies.

Although symbolic in nature at this stage, the motion of censure aims to increase diplomatic pressure on Iran, with the option of potentially referring the issue to the UN Security Council.

In the past, similar resolutions have led Tehran to retaliate by removing surveillance cameras and other equipment from its nuclear facilities and stepping up its uranium enrichment activities.

“The report released today by the IAEA makes clear that Iran intends to continue expanding its nuclear program in ways that serve no credible peaceful purpose,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

“Iran must cooperate with the IAEA without further delay to fully implement its legally binding safeguards obligations.”

According to the IAEA, Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state to enrich uranium to the lofty level of 60 percent – just below weapons grade – while continuing to accumulate large uranium reserves.

The IAEA said Tehran has significantly stepped up its nuclear program and now has enough material to build several atomic bombs.

The Islamic republic gradually broke with the commitments made under the nuclear agreement it signed with world powers in 2015.

The landmark deal provided Iran with relief from Western sanctions in exchange for curbs on its atomic program, but collapsed after the United States’ unilateral withdrawal under then-President Donald Trump in 2018.

Efforts to revive the agreement have so far failed.

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