Iran ‘immediately’ accelerating nuclear program to ‘punish’ IAEA

“We will significantly increase our uranium enrichment capacity,” says spokesman for Iran’s nuclear development program.

By World Israel News Staff

Iran announced that it is “immediately” activating advanced centrifuges for uranium enrichment, as a punitive measure after an international nuclear watchdog group criticized Tehran for refusing to cooperate with an oversight program.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently passed a resolution urging Iran to be more transparent in regards to its nuclear development program, calling on the country to allow IAEA inspectors to visit and monitor its nuclear sites.

That resolution sparked outrage among Iran’s senior leadership, who released a statement indicating that it would ramp up nuclear development as an act of defiance against the IAEA.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s reciprocal response to this political misuse of the [IAEA] Board of Governors was immediately put into action, and the deployment of a set of new and advanced centrifuges has begun,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told Iran International.

Ghalibaf described the resolution as “anti-Iran” and “harmful,” and claimed that it was an “unjust” decision against Iran’s “peaceful” nuclear program.

“We will significantly increase our enrichment capacity, deploy various advanced machines, and enhance the speed of industrial research and development for each machine,” Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said in a Farsi-language TV interview.

“Our infrastructure will be strengthened, and security measures will be improved through other actions,” he added.

Despite Iran’s decision to ramp up its nuclear program rather than allow international inspectors at its site, some countries are still urging Tehran to return to the negotiation table, with the goal of returning to the 2015 nuclear deal.

“We note with serious concern Iran’s announcement… that, instead of responding to the resolution with cooperation, it plans to respond with further expansion of its nuclear program in ways that have no credible peaceful rationale,” the United States, Britain, France and Germany said in a joint statement released by the U.S. State Department.

“We expect Iran to reengage on the path of dialogue and cooperation with the agency.”