Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi on Sunday announced to state media that the Islamic Republic had completed construction of a facility capable of producing advanced centrifuges at its nuclear plant Natanz, fulfilling threats that it would continue nuclear production in the event that the US withdraw from the 2014 nuclear deal and slap heavy sanctions on the country.

“Khamenei ordered us to set up and complete a very advanced hall for the construction of modern centrifuges, and this hall has now been fully equipped and set up,” said the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization to IRNA news agency, according to Reuters.

In recent months, Iran has made known its plans to increase its uranium enrichment capacity. In May, following the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, a letter was submitted to the Atomic Energy Agency “regarding the start of certain activities,” according to Salehi, indicating work had begun on the infrastructure for building advanced centrifuges at the Natanz facility.

However, Salehi vowed in the letter that the Islamic Republic’s nuclear activities would remain within the framework of the crumbling agreement.

“What we are doing does not violate the (2015 nuclear) agreement,” he said, noting that this was just the start of the production process and “does not mean that we will start assembling the centrifuges.”

Under the landmark deal, Iran can build parts for the centrifuges as long as it does not put them into operation within the first decade.

Salehi also emphasized that these moves “do not mean the negotiations [with Europe] have failed.”

The Iran nuclear deal is among the multilateral agreements that Trump bashes as part of his “America First” stance. Here, Iranians gather next to a replica of a Ghadr medium-range ballistic missile during a demonstration in Tehran on November 4, 2017   ATTA KENARE (AFP/File)

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The modest steps announced Tuesday appeared to be mainly aimed at signaling that Iran could resume its drive toward industrial-scale enrichment if the nuclear accord comes unraveled.

Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for Iran’s nuclear agency, was quoted by state TV as saying a letter was submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency detailing the move.

Kamalvandi said Iran is “providing infrastructure and arrangements for high-speed and capacity in production of UF4 and UF6 gases as well as rotor of centrifuges.”

Spinning centrifuges convert the gases into enriched uranium that can be used for reactor fuel and medical isotopes. If enriched to higher levels, the material can be used for weapons.

“It is important to note that Iran will remain far from having the fissile material necessary for a nuclear weapon even if they increase their enrichment efforts as described,” The Washington-based Arms Control Association said in a statement.

The head of Iran’s nuclear agency, Ali Akbar Salehi, said Iran is prepared to resume work on advanced centrifuges that would dramatically increase its capacity for enrichment. But he said that so far the work is limited to building a new facility for assembling the centrifuges.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had ordered the increase in capacity in a speech Monday, in which he vowed that Iran would preserve its nuclear program despite the U.S. withdrawal from the landmark 2015 accord.

The agreement set strict limits on Iran’s uranium enrichment in return for the lifting of U.S. and international sanctions.

When the Trump administration withdrew from the accord, it announced that it would resume sanctions and impose new penalties unless Iran dramatically changes its policies on other issues not covered by the deal, including its ballistic missile program and support for regional militant groups.

Iran currently is using nearly 5,000 centrifuges and enriching uranium at 3.5 percent. It says it needs more enriched uranium for its only nuclear power plant. Iran denies it has ever sought nuclear weapons, which require uranium enriched to 90 percent.

Source: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iran-informs-increase-nuclear-enrichment-capacity-55653003

The post Iran informs UN of increase in nuclear enrichment capacity first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The ayatollahs and their elected puppets went through the motions, but never truly fulfilled the stipulations of the agreement.

The West, fearful of escalating tensions, turned a blind eye to numerous violations. But that only kicked the can down the road, as the Americans say.

Now, top Iranian officials are openly boasting of successfully playing the West, while retaining the ability to restart their nuclear arms program at a moment’s notice.

In an August 22 interview on Iran’s IRINN TV, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, revealed that his people had poured cement into a few external pipes at the Arak nuclear reactor in order to fool international inspectors, but had not disabled its core.

“If we want to, we can start enriching uranium to 20% within five days, and that is very significant,” said Salehi.

Indeed, this is very significant. The question is whether or not Western powers see it as such.

Source: http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/32333/Default.aspx

The post Iran Boasts That It Tricked the World, Can Now Start Making Nukes first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that any move of the United States to exert pressure on the IAEA over Iran’s nuclear deal is a violation of the accord, local media reported on Saturday.

“We are sure that the IAEA is aware of regulations on its behavior as an international body and will not let its independence and status be undermined by the US pressures,” Zarif was quoted as saying.

On Friday, Nikki Haley, US ambassador to the United Nations, said that the IAEA has the support of the United States to use all the authorities to monitor Iran’s nuclear program.

The Vienna-based UN nuclear watchdog has true experts and professionals and has a very strong verification program in Iran. However, the agency is not allowed to see the whole picture of Tehran’s nuclear program, Haley told reporters at UN headquarters in New York.

Iran has publicly declared that they will not allow access to military sites. But the international agreement in 2015 makes no distinction between military and non-military sites, said Haley after she returned from a trip to the IAEA headquarters in Vienna.

On Saturday, Alireza Rahimi, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Iran’s Parliament, said that US pressure on the IAEA for Iran’s nuclear activities is an “unconventional intervention” in the international body’s affairs, Tehran Times daily reported.

The Islamic republic has informed the agency of its activities in full transparency and within the framework of the Additional Protocol, and all the visits to Iran’s nuclear facilities have been within the framework of the Protocol, Rahimi was quoted as saying.

“In this regard, Iran has not committed any breach of the regulations of the agency and has made necessary cooperation beyond the agency’s expectations,” Rahimi said.

The Iranian security official said that, however, visits to Iran’s military sites would not be available to the IAEA since the so-called Possible Military Dimensions (PMD) file of Iran has already closed.

Iran’s permanent mission to the IAEA also said in a statement that the objectives and the results of Haley’s trip to Vienna “contradict” the nuclear deal and UNSC Resolution 2231.

The statement said that Iran is abiding by its duties and responsibilities in dealing with the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, IAEA Safeguard Agreements, nuclear deal as well as additional protocol, and under no circumstances let misuse of these rules and regulations for ill-wishing political means of a specific country and reserve the rights to remind all parties to remain committed to their pledges with regards to JCPOA.

Iran expects the IAEA head and its inspectors to perform their tasks regarding the nuclear deal with professionalism and honesty, the statement said.

On Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister wrote to IAEA Chief Yukiya Amano and European foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini warning that Haley’s visit is meant to violate the nuclear agreement.

“This visit, with its announced purpose, is not in conformity with several provisions of the JCPOA (or the nuclear deal) and the UNSC Resolution 2231 which deal with the role of the agency and the necessity of upholding its independence and protecting the sensitive information that comes to its knowledge,” he said.

After years of tension with the West, Iran struck a deal with the five world powers of Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States in July 2015 on a comprehensive deal, under which Iran agreed to limit its uranium-enrichment activities in return for the lifting of western and international sanctions.

The IAEA is responsible for the verification of Iran’s compliance with the agreement through regular access to all Iranian nuclear facilities.

The international agreement is facing serious threats of collapse as tensions mounted between Washington and Tehran recently.

US President Donald Trump, who during his election campaign had called the Iranian nuclear deal a “disaster” and “the worst deal ever negotiated,” approved new sanctions on Tehran this month for its missile program.

Iran accused Washington of breaching the 2015 agreement. But Washington argued that they were not related to the nuclear deal.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned that his country could pull out of the deal should Washington impose any new sanctions. Iran’s atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi warned Tuesday that his country could resume production of highly enriched uranium within five days if the 2015 deal is revoked.

Source: https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/08/27/iran-warns-against-us-intervention-in-iaea-affairs/

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