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Iran enriches uranium at Natanz with additional centrifuges, reports IAEA

The second of three cascades of up to 174 machines each is enriching uranium to up to 5% fissile purity, it said.

Natanz
Uranium enrichment centrifuges at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility. Credit: Tehran Times.

Reuters saw a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday that said Iran has started to enrich uranium with the second of three clusters of advanced IR-6 centrifuges recently installed at an underground plant in Natanz.

According to the confidential report to member states, the second of the three cascades of up to 174 machines each is enriching uranium to up to 5% fissile purity. The third has apparently not been fed with nuclear material.

On Monday, a different source stated that the first cascade had been activated.

Meanwhile, Iran needs firmer guarantees from Washington, said its foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, on Wednesday in Moscow. He added that the IAEA should stop its “politically motivated probes” of Tehran.

“Iran is carefully reviewing the E.U.-drafted text. ... We need stronger guarantees from the other party to have a sustainable deal,” he said, reported Reuters.

The U.S. president insists that American naval forces are maintaining a strict blockade until Tehran agrees to a deal or total surrender.
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The U.S. ambassador to Jerusalem dismissed their comments as absurd misinformation.
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