The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Monday that Iran has further breached the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers by beginning to enrich uranium with a third set of advanced centrifuges at its underground plant at Natanz.
“On 7 March 2021, the Agency verified at FEP [Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz] that: Iran had begun feeding natural UF6 into the third cascade of 174 IR-2m centrifuges,” the IAEA said in a report obtained by Reuters.
“The fourth cascade of 174 IR-2m centrifuges was installed but had yet to be fed with natural UF6; installation of a fifth cascade of IR-2m centrifuges was ongoing; and installation of a sixth cascade of IR-2m centrifuges had yet to begin,” it stated.
The move only serves to escalate tensions with the United States, Europe and Israel at a time when U.S. President Joe Biden seeks to negotiate with Tehran over its nuclear program.
