IAEA report: Iran plans uranium enrichment expansion

Iran told the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog on Thursday that it plans to add more than 6,000 uranium-enriching centrifuges to its enrichment plants and bring more of the currently installed ones online, according to a confidential report.

According to a report seen by Reuters, the International Atomic Energy Agency explained in detail what Iran meant when it said it would add thousands of centrifuges in response to a resolution against it that was passed last week at the request of the United States, Britain, France, and Germany.

More enrichment ability means that Iran can enrich uranium faster, which could raise the risk of nuclear weapons spreading. Iranian officials say they are not trying to make nuclear weapons, but Western countries say there is no good reason for processing uranium to up to 60% purity, which is very close to the 90% purity level needed for weapons. No other country has done this without making a nuclear bomb.

The new centrifuges allowed a 5% purity level of enrichment, significantly different from the 60% Iran is currently producing. Iran can easily change to higher enrichment levels later, but it may be attempting to make peace with European powers by lowering the purity of its uranium, particularly at its Fordow plant.

Two underground plants in Natanz and Fordow, as well as an above-ground test plant in Natanz, are already running more than 10,000 centrifuges. Reports indicated that the company plans to add 32 more cascades, or groups, of more than 160 machines, in addition to a massive cascade of up to 1,152 advanced IR-6 machines.

Although Iran said it would bring online the cascades it already had by feeding them with uranium fuel, the IAEA confirmed that it had not yet done this.

As a result of Iran’s plan to turn on eight new IR-6 cascades, the report said, “The agency has determined and shared with Iran the changes required to the intensity of its inspection activities at FFEP (Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant) following the commissioning of the cascades.”

Iran is currently enriching up to 60% in Fordow, a carved rock. The above-ground Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz is the only other plant performing that task.

Before the IAEA board’s quarterly meeting last week, Iran offered to limit its enriched uranium stock to no more than 60%. However, officials said that this would only happen if the board did not pass a resolution against Iran.

This was “a concrete step in the right direction,” according to the IAEA, which confirmed that Iran was slowing down enrichment at that highest level. However, the board still passed the resolution, which again asked Iran to work together with the IAEA better.

The report released on Thursday said that Iran had finished putting the last two cascades of IR-2m centrifuges at its huge underground Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz. The report also stated that Iran intended to activate all 18 centrifuges, despite the IAEA’s November 26 confirmation of no uranium feeding into them.

The report also said that Iran told the agency that it planned to add 18 more stacks of 166 IR-4 centrifuges to the Natanz plant.

Iran informed the IAEA about its plans to increase the number of full cascades, rather than small or intermediate ones, at the Natanz above-ground test plant. This could lead to the production of more enriched uranium.

It also said that at that test plant, it planned to put in a cascade of up to 1,152 IR-6 centrifuges. This could be Iran’s largest cascade so far.