Iran to begin enriching uranium with thousands of advanced centrifuges, UN watchdog says
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran will begin enriching uranium with thousands of advanced centrifuges at its two main nuclear facilities at Fordo and Natanz, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said Friday, further raising tensions over Tehran’s program as it enriches at near weapons-grade levels. The notice from the International Atomic Energy Agency only mentioned Iran enriching uranium with new centrifuges to 5% purity, far lower than the 60% it currently does — likely signaling that it still wants to negotiate with the West and the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump. Each of these advanced classes of centrifuges enrich uranium faster than Iran’s baseline IR-1 centrifuges, which have been the workhorse of the country’s atomic program. Since the collapse of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers following the U.S.’ unilateral withdrawal from the accord in 2018, it has pursued nuclear enrichment just below weapons-grade levels.
Nuclear watchdog says Iran enriching up to 60% at underground Fordow nuclear facility
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