(Reuters) - Iran has built a factory that can produce rotors for up to 60 centrifuges a day, the head of its atomic agency said on Wednesday, upping the stakes in a confrontation with Washington over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear work.

FILE PHOTO: Head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi attends the lecture "Iran after the agreement: Hopes & Concerns" in Vienna, Austria, September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo

The announcement came a month after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he had ordered agencies to prepare to increase uranium enrichment capacity if a nuclear deal with world powers falls apart after Washington’s withdrawal from the pact.

Under the terms of the 2015 agreement, which was also signed by Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

The other signatories have been scrambling to save the accord, arguing it offers the best way to stop Iran developing a nuclear bomb.

Iran has said it will wait to see what the other powers can do, but has signaled it is ready to get its enrichment activities back on track. It has regularly said its nuclear work is just for electricity generation and other peaceful projects.

Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the new factory did not in itself break the terms of the agreement.

A spokesman for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the organization is aware of the announcement but has “no comment.”

“Instead of building this factory in the next seven or eight years, we built it during the negotiations but have not started it,” Salehi, said, according to state media.

“Of course, the [Supreme Leader] was completely informed and we gave him the necessary information at the time. And now that he has given the order this factory has started all its work.”

The factory would have the capacity to build rotors for up to 60 IR-6 centrifuges per day, he added.

Related Coverage European Investment Bank casts doubt on EU plan to salvage nuclear deal

Separately, Salehi said that Iran now had a stockpile of up to 950 tons of uranium. He said Iran had imported 550 tons of uranium before the nuclear agreement and had acquired approximately another 400 tons after the agreement was finalized, bringing the total stockpile to between 900 and 950 tons.

Salehi did not specify where the additional 400 tons of uranium had come from.

Last month, Salehi announced that Iran has begun working on infrastructure for building advanced centrifuges at its Natanz facility.</s>July 18 (UPI) -- Iran's nuclear chief said Wednesday Tehran has built an advanced factory to make centrifuge rotors that enhance uranium enrichment capacity.

Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the project became operational because of a recent decree by Islamic leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei to reach its uranium enrichment capacity.

Salehi said Iran was building the factory during negotiations that led to the 2015 nuclear agreement, but it was not operational.

The new factory will allow Iran to reach its limit of 190,000-SWU (separative work units) within 10 months.

"The [leader] was totally informed and we provided him with the necessary information at the time. And now with his order, this factory has gone on stream," Salehi said.

President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Obama-era nuclear deal In May, ending months of speculation on how he planned to handle what he described as "one of the worst deals in history."

"The Iran deal is defective at its core. If we do nothing, we know exactly what will happen," Trump said, warning of an arms race in the Middle East.

As part of the withdrawal, Trump also promised "the highest level of economic sanctions" against Iran -- including punishment for any nation that helps Iran with nuclear development.

Under the 2015 nuclear deal -- which also was signed by Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany -- Iran agreed to eliminate its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium, cut its stockpile of low-enriched uranium and reduce its number of gas centrifuges.

When the United States left the deal, Iran vowed to boost enrichment capacity to put pressure on the remaining signatories to live up to the agreement.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran's nuclear activity is peaceful and is not geared toward creating weapons.

"Iran is a country that adheres to its commitments. And the U.S. is a country that has never adhered to its commitments," he said during a televised address.</s>related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

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Iran has built a factory that can produce rotors for up to 60 centrifuges a day, the head of its atomic agency said on Wednesday, upping the stakes in a confrontation with Washington over the Islamic Republic's nuclear work.

REUTERS: Iran has built a factory that can produce rotors for up to 60 centrifuges a day, the head of its atomic agency said on Wednesday, upping the stakes in a confrontation with Washington over the Islamic Republic's nuclear work.

The announcement came a month after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he had ordered agencies to prepare to increase uranium enrichment capacity if a nuclear deal with world powers falls apart after Washington's withdrawal from the pact.

Under the terms of the 2015 agreement, which was also signed by Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

The other signatories have been scrambling to save the accord, arguing it offers the best way to stop Iran developing a nuclear bomb.

Iran has said it will wait to see what the other powers can do, but has signalled it is ready to get its enrichment activities back on track. It has regularly said its nuclear work is just for electricity generation and other peaceful projects.

Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the new factory did not in itself break the terms of the agreement.

"Instead of building this factory in the next seven or eight years, we built it during the negotiations but did not start it," Salehi, said, according to state media.

"Of course, the was completely informed and we gave him the necessary information at the time. And now that he has given the order this factory has started all of its work."

The factory would have the capacity to build rotors for up to 60 IR-6 centrifuges per day, he added.

Last month, Salehi announced that Iran has begun working on infrastructure for building advanced centrifuges at its Natanz facility.</s>DUBAI
• Iran has built a factory that can produce rotors for up to 60 centrifuges a day, the head of its atomic agency said yesterday, upping the stakes in a confrontation with Washington over the Islamic Republic's nuclear work.

The announcement came a month after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he had ordered agencies to prepare to increase uranium enrichment capacity if a nuclear deal with world powers falls apart after the US' withdrawal from the pact.

Under the terms of the 2015 agreement, which was also signed by Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

The other signatories have been scrambling to save the accord, arguing it offers the best way to stop Iran developing a nuclear bomb.

Mr Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, said the new factory did not in itself break the terms of the agreement. "Instead of building this factory in the next seven or eight years, we built it during the negotiations but did not start it," state media quoted him as saying.

"Of course, the (Supreme Leader) was completely informed and we gave him the necessary information at the time. And now that he has given the order, this factory has started all of its work."

The factory would have the capacity to build rotors for up to 60 IR-6 centrifuges per day, he added.

Last month, Mr Salehi announced that Iran has begun working on infrastructure for building advanced centrifuges at its Natanz facility.</s>(Reuters) - Iran has built a factory that can produce rotors for up to 60 centrifuges a day, the head of its atomic agency said on Wednesday, upping the stakes in a confrontation with Washington over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear work.

The announcement came a month after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he had ordered agencies to prepare to increase uranium enrichment capacity if a nuclear deal with world powers falls apart after Washington’s withdrawal from the pact.

Under the terms of the 2015 agreement, which was also signed by Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

The other signatories have been scrambling to save the accord, arguing it offers the best way to stop Iran developing a nuclear bomb.

Iran has said it will wait to see what the other powers can do, but has signaled it is ready to get its enrichment activities back on track. It has regularly said its nuclear work is just for electricity generation and other peaceful projects.

Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the new factory did not in itself break the terms of the agreement.

“Instead of building this factory in the next seven or eight years, we built it during the negotiations but did not start it,” Salehi, said, according to state media.

“Of course, the [Supreme Leader] was completely informed and we gave him the necessary information at the time. And now that he has given the order this factory has started all of its work.”

The factory would have the capacity to build rotors for up to 60 IR-6 centrifuges per day, he added.

Last month, Salehi announced that Iran has begun working on infrastructure for building advanced centrifuges at its Natanz facility.</s>An Iranian factory has started to produce rotors for up to 60 centrifuges a day, upping the stakes in a confrontation with the United States over the Islamic Republic's nuclear work.

The announcement by the head of Iran's atomic agency on Wednesday came a month after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered agencies to prepare to increase uranium enrichment capacity, if a nuclear deal with world powers falls apart after Washington's withdrawal.

Under terms of the 2015 agreement, which was also signed by Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

The other signatories have scrambled to save the accord, arguing it offers the best way to stop Iran from developing a nuclear bomb.

Iran has said it will wait to see what the other powers will do, but signalled it is ready to get its enrichment activities back on track. It has regularly said its nuclear work is just for electricity generation and other peaceful projects.

Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the new factory did not in itself break the terms of the agreement.

"Instead of building this factory in the next seven or eight years, we built it during the negotiations but did not start it," said Salehi, according to state media.

"Of course, the [supreme leader] was completely informed and we gave him the necessary information at the time. And now that he has given the order, this factory has started all of its work."

The factory would have the capacity to build rotors for as many as 60 IR-6 centrifuges per day, he added.

Last month, Salehi announced Iran began working on infrastructure for building advanced centrifuges at its Natanz facility.

Salehi also told state TV on Wednesday the effort to acquire uranium has resulted in a stockpile of as much as 950 tonnes.

He said Iran imported 400 tonnes since the 2015 landmark nuclear deal, bringing its stockpile to between 900-950 tonnes - up from 500 tonnes.

Salehi said that's enough for Iran to reach its longtime goal of 190,000 centrifuge machines to enrich uranium.

The nuclear accord limits Iran's uranium enrichment to 3.67 percent, enough to use in a nuclear power plant but far lower than the 90 percent needed for an atomic weapon.

However, since the US pulled out of the deal in May, Iran has vowed to boost enrichment capacity to put pressure on the remaining signatories to live up to the agreement.</s>Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analyses from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.

Iran has built a factory that can produce rotors for up to 60 centrifuges a day, the head of its atomic agency said on Wednesday, upping the stakes in a confrontation with Washington over the Islamic Republic's nuclear work.



The announcement came a month after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he had ordered agencies to prepare to increase uranium enrichment capacity if a nuclear deal with world powers falls apart after Washington's withdrawal from the pact.





Under the terms of the 2015 agreement, which was also signed by Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.The other signatories have been scrambling to save the accord, arguing it offers the best way to stop Iran developing a nuclear bomb.Iran has said it will wait to see what the other powers can do, but has signaled it is ready to get its enrichment activities back on track. It has regularly said its nuclear work is just for electricity generation and other peaceful projects.Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the new factory did not in itself break the terms of the agreement.A spokesman for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the organization is aware of the announcement but has "no comment.""Instead of building this factory in the next seven or eight years, we built it during the negotiations but have not started it," Salehi, said, according to state media."Of course, the [Supreme Leader] was completely informed and we gave him the necessary information at the time. And now that he has given the order this factory has started all its work."The factory would have the capacity to build rotors for up to 60 IR-6 centrifuges per day, he added.Separately, Salehi said that Iran now had a stockpile of up to 950 tons of uranium. He said Iran had imported 550 tons of uranium before the nuclear agreement and had acquired approximately another 400 tons after the agreement was finalized, bringing the total stockpile to between 900 and 950 tons.Salehi did not specify where the additional 400 tons of uranium had come from.Last month, Salehi announced that Iran has begun working on infrastructure for building advanced centrifuges at its Natanz facility.</s>TEHRAN: Iran has built a factory that can produce rotors for up to 60 centrifuges a day, the head of its atomic agency said on Wednesday, upping the stakes in a confrontation with Washington over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear work.

The announcement came a month after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he had ordered agencies to prepare to increase uranium enrichment capacity if a nuclear deal with world powers falls apart after Washington’s withdrawal from the pact.

Under the terms of the 2015 agreement, which was also signed by Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

The other signatories have been scrambling to save the accord, arguing it offers the best way to stop Iran developing a nuclear bomb. Iran has said it will wait to see what the other powers can do, but has signalled it is ready to get its enrichment activities back on track.

It has regularly said its nuclear work is just for electricity generation and other peaceful projects. Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, said the new factory did not in itself break the terms of the agreement.

A spokesman for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the organisation is aware of the announcement but has "no comment." "Instead of building this factory in the next seven or eight years, we built it during the negotiations but have not started it," Salehi, said, according to state media.</s>Iran has the technical capability to enrich uranium to a higher level than it could before a multinational nuclear deal was reached to curb its nuclear program, state TV quoted the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation, Ali Akbar Salehi, as saying.

U.S. President Donald) Trump has given European signatories to the 2105 deal a May 12 deadline to “fix the terrible flaws” in the agreement, or he will refuse to extend U.S. sanctions relief on Iran.

Salehi warned Trump against taking that course. “Iran is not bluffing. … Technically, we are fully prepared to enrich uranium higher than we used to produce before the deal was reached. … I hope Trump comes to his senses and stays in the deal.”

Under the deal, which led to the lifting of most international sanctions in 2016, Iran’s level of enrichment must remain around 3.6 percent.

Iran stopped producing 20 percent enriched uranium and gave up the majority of its stockpile as part of the agreement with the United States, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia.

Uranium refined to 20 percent fissile purity is well beyond the 5 percent normally required to fuel civilian nuclear power plants, although still well short of highly enriched, or 80 to 90 percent, purity needed for a nuclear bomb.

Tehran has ruled out any possibility of negotiating over the country’s ballistic missile program, its nuclear activities beyond 2025 and its international role in the Middle East, as demanded by Trump.

Britain, France and Germany back the deal as the best way of stopping Tehran getting nuclear weapons, but have called on Iran to limit its regional influence and curb the missile program.

A British government spokesman defended the accord, saying in a statement: “We have never been naive about Iran and its nuclear intentions.”

“That is why the IAEA inspection regime agreed as part of the Iran nuclear deal is one of the most extensive and robust in the history of international nuclear accords,” the spokesman added. “It remains a vitally important way of independently verifying that Iran is adhering to the deal and that Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively peaceful.”

In a related development , Salehi said on Wednesday that his country’s effort to acquire uranium has resulted in a stockpile of as much as 950 tons.

He told state TV that Iran had nearly doubled its stockpile by importing some 400 tons of uranium since the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Western powers, bringing its stockpile to between 900 and 950 tons — up from 500 tons.

Salehi said that would be enough of the material for Iran to reach its longtime goal of running 190,000 centrifuge machines for enriching uranium in the future.

Salehi also said that the country has constructed a new factory to build rotor blades for centrifuges, with a capacity to manufacture rotors for up to 60 IR-6 centrifuges per day, Reuters reported.

Salehi insisted that the new factory did not break the terms of the nuclear agreement.

“Instead of building this factory in the next seven or eight years, we built it during the negotiations but did not start it,” Salehi said, according to Reuters.

“Of course, the [Supreme Leader] was completely informed and we gave him the necessary information at the time. And now that he has given the order this factory has started all of its work.”</s>Iran has increased its stockpile of uranium and boosted its ability to enrich it to weapons grade, the head of its atomic agency admitted on Wednesday.

Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the regime had imported 550 tons of uranium before the 2015 agreement to curb its nuclear program. It had acquired about 400 tons more since then, bringing the total to between 900 and 950 tons.

Iran has also built a factory that can produce rotors for up to 60 IR-6 centrifuges a day for uranium enrichment, Salehi said.

The announcements came a month after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he had ordered agencies to prepare to increase uranium-enrichment capacity if the nuclear deal falls apart after Washington’s withdrawal.

Under the agreement, which was also signed by Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

The other signatories have been scrambling to save the deal. Iran has said it will wait to see what they can do, but has signaled it is ready to put its enrichment activities back on track.

Salehi insisted the new factory did not break the terms of the agreement. “Instead of building this factory in the next seven or eight years, we built it during the negotiations but have not started it,” he said.

Salehi said last month that Iran had begun working on infrastructure for building advanced centrifuges at its Natanz facility.

The announcements suggest that a nuclear bomb is on Iran’s agenda, Oubai Shahbandar, a Syrian-American analyst and fellow at the New America Foundation’s International Security Program, told Arab News

“Iran’s negotiating strategy here seems to be pegged to pressuring the EU to provide European businesses protection from complying with renewed US sanctions,” he said.

“IR-6 centrifuges are relatively complex and if Tehran moves forward with enhancing their capacity to mass-produce faster advanced centrifuges, they could easily establish a position to breakout quickly toward nuclear weapon production, if the decision is made.

“The capacity to build en masse more advanced centrifuges in the future doesn’t violate the deal itself, but it sends a strong political signal that nuclear weaponization could very well still be on the agenda in Tehran.”
Iran starts work at a factory that can produce rotors for up to 60 centrifuges a day.