Iran Building Two New Nuclear Plants

The reactor building at the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran / Getty Images

 

Files complaint against U.S. for ‘crimes against humanity’

Iranian leaders announced on Monday the construction of two new nuclear plants, and it remains unclear if the Trump administration views this as crossing a red line since its abandonment of the landmark nuclear deal, which included provisions permitting Iran to work on heavy water nuclear reactors that could provide a plutonium-based pathway to a bomb.

Iran poised to resume enrichment at deep Fordow facility

 

After Iran warned it will leave the nuclear accord unless benefits are forthcoming, an atomic energy official in Tehran said that uranium enrichment would resume at Fordow – if that happens.

Iran to increase uranium enrichment. US-Israeli strike on nuclear facilities comes closer

 

Iran is to inform the UN nuclear watchdog in Vienna on Tuesday, June 6, of its decision to increase uranium (UF6) enrichment capacity in response to the US exit from the 2015 nuclear accord. Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi, announcing this, did not mention a date for this process to begin or the grade of enrichment. Supreme ruler Ayatollah Khamenei’s said Monday night: “I have ordered Iran’s atomic energy agency to be prepared to upgrade our (uranium) enrichment capacity” if the 2015 nuclear deal with the world powers falls apart after the US withdrawal. Chairman Ali Akhbar Salehi of the atomic organization forecast this development some days ago.

Iran Threatens To Restart Nuclear Enrichment Program

 

Iran is threatening to restart its controversial nuclear enrichment program, as the head of the Islamic Republic’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) revealed on Sunday that they have maintained the ability to quickly restart the full-scale enrichment of uranium “within 4 days,” reports FARS news.

“If senior Islamic Republic officials issue an order to resume the 20 percent enrichment, we can do it in Fordo within 4 days,” said Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the AEOI – referring to the Fordo nuclear facility in northern Iran. Of note – 20 percent enrichment is considered above the required level for nuclear energy production, however it is still well below the 80-90 percent required for a nuclear weapon.

Iran back to high enrichment ‘in 5 days’ if US quits nuclear deal

 

Iran can resume high-level uranium enrichment within five days if the United States tears up the nuclear deal, the head of its Atomic Energy Organisation said Tuesday.

“If we make a determination, at most in five days we can start 20 percent enrichment in Fordo (nuclear plant),” said Ali Akbar Salehi in an interview with state broadcaster IRIB.

Iranian Uranian Enrichment Streamlines Path to Nukes

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a ceremony marking the death anniversary of the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in Tehran, Iran, June 4, 2017. Leader.ir/Handout via REUTERS

 

According to nuclear verification experts Iran’s streamlining of uranium enrichment could greatly expand their ability to reach nuclear weapons status

(VERO BEACH, FL) In a new report released on May 30th by the Institute For Science and International Security titled “Is Iran Mass Producing Advanced Gas Centrifuge Components?” authors David Albright and Olli Heinonen noted that Tehran’s recent announcement that they now mass produce advanced nuclear centrifuges capable of more quickly enriching uranium “would greatly expand Iran’s ability to sneak-out or breakout to nuclear weapons capability.”

Iran eyes nuclear-powered ships after US sanctions move

 

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday ordered the country’s scientists to start work on nuclear-powered ships in response to the expected renewal of sanctions by the United States.

In letters read out on state television, Rouhani criticised the US move as a breach of last year’s nuclear accord and told Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation to start work on “planning the design and production of nuclear fuel and reactors for maritime transport.”

The president said he had also ordered the foreign ministry to prepare a legal complaint to the international committee that oversees the nuclear accord.

Trump poses no real threat to nuclear deal, Iran official claims

In other words, the last eight years has bought Iran enough time to make the course its on set in stone.

 

A Donald Trump presidency would be “constrained by realities” and could not seriously impact the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said.

“I think whoever gets into the … office of the president in the United States will have to move according to the realities on the ground,” Ali Akbar Salehi told a panel discussion in Vienna on Sept. 28, according to Reuters.

Iran news report: Tehran will start using fastest centrifuges on day deal takes effect

FARS agency quotes Zarif, Salehi telling MPs they’ll operate IR-8 centrifuges, a breach of US-published framework terms that would make a mockery of deal

Iran will begin using its latest generation IR-8 centrifuges as soon as its nuclear deal with the world powers goes into effect, Iran’s foreign minister and nuclear chief told members of parliament on Tuesday, according to Iran’s semi-official FARS news agency.

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Iran has said that its IR-8 centrifuges enrich uranium 20 times faster than the IR-1 centrifuges it currently uses.

Iran Nuke Reactor Hits Capacity

Iran’s Russian-built nuclear power plant in Bushehr hit capacity on Tuesday and was hooked into the country’s national power grid, according to Iranian officials.

Iran refuses to allow inspection of Parchin nuclear site

NICOSIA — Iran, despite its agreement with the West, continues to deny international inspectors access to a key nuclear military site.

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization has rejected appeals by NATO states for the inspection of the Parchin military site southeast of Teheran.