Iran raises tensions by further breaching the 2015 nuclear deal, adding pressure to potential talks with the Biden administration.
By JNS
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.