The United Nations’ agency for nuclear watchdogs on Monday accused the Iranian government of accelerating the pace at which it violated the restrictions imposed under the 2015 nuclear deal signed under the US, Iran and several European countries.
Tehran has shown increasing willingness to ignore the Obama-era agreement after that-President Trump
Donald TrumpUS, South Korea reaches cost-sharing agreement for Graham’s troops: Trump can make GOP bigger, stronger, or he can ‘destroy’ it. Biden nominates female generals whose promotion has reportedly been delayed under Trump MORE pulled the US out of it in 2018.
A report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released to member states and obtained by Reuters found that the Iranian Natanz plant is starting to use a third set of IR-2m centrifuges, which are used to enrich uranium for the country’s nuclear power plants.
According to the 2015 agreement, the use of the IR-2m centrifuges was not allowed, although the purity of enriched uranium produced by the centrifuges, according to Reuters, is much lower than that required for the manufacture of weapons.
“On March 7, 2021, the agency confirmed to FEP that: Iran has begun feeding natural UF6 into the third waterfall of 174 IR-2m centrifuges,” the IAEA report reads.
“The fourth waterfall of 174 IR-2m centrifuges was installed, but still had to be fed with natural UF6; the installation of a fifth waterfall of IR-2m centrifuges continues; and the installation of a sixth waterfall of IR-2m centrifuges had yet to begin, ”he continued.
The Iranian government has put pressure on the Biden administration to return to the 2015 agreement since the president took office in January. The White House has resisted calls so far, saying it is up to Tehran to return to compliance, while refusing to withdraw the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration after the agreement was abandoned.
The Hill reached out to the Department of State for comment on the IAEA’s latest findings.
Early last month, Iran’s foreign minister named responsibility for the nuclear power that is on the right track in the United States.
“It was the United States that left the agreement,” Javad Zarif said on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS”, adding: “It was the United States that violated the agreement. It was the United States that punished any country. ‘who was respectful and complied with the agreement, so it is up to the United States to return to the agreement and fulfill its obligations.’