Iran speeds up installation of nuclear equipment: IAEA

VIENNA: Iran has accelerated the installation of advanced nuclear machines at its Natanz plant in the last three months, the UN atomic agency said in a report yesterday.
It has increased its capacity to refine uranium by installing hundreds of more centrifuges, underlining Tehran’s defiance of Western demands to curb the activity.
But, in a development that could help buy time for diplomacy between Iran and world powers, the report also showed limited growth of Iran’s most sensitive nuclear stockpile and it remained below an Israeli “red line” for possible action.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said that Iran has installed at Natanz almost 700 IR-2m centrifuges and empty centrifuge casings, used to enrich uranium, compared with just 180 in February.
“As of 15 May 2013, four cascades had been fully installed and one cascade had been partially installed with IR-2m centrifuges and empty centrifuge casings, and preparatory installation work had been completed for another 13 IR-2m cascades,” the quarterly report seen by AFP said.
Uranium enrichment is at the heart of the international community’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme since in highly purified form, the material can be used in a nuclear weapon.
Iran has said it intends to install around 3,000 of the new centrifuges at Natanz -- where around 12,500 of the older models are installed -- enabling it to speed up the enrichment of uranium.
The UN Security Council has passed numerous resolutions calling on Iran to suspend all enrichment activities, and has imposed four rounds of sanctions.
Iran insists its nuclear programme is purely peaceful.
Despite the developments at Natanz, the IAEA report seen noted that Iran has not started operating any new equipment at its Fordo plant.
Fordo is of more concern to the international community, since it is used to enrich uranium to fissile purities of 20 percent and Natanz mostly to five percent.
The ability to enrich to 20 percent is technically speaking considerably closer to 90 percent, the level needed for a nuclear weapon.