“We cannot produce the desired centrifuges, because we limit ourselves to work within the bounds of the JCPOA. We are working on producing IR8 and IR6 within the JCPOA bounds for research purposes,” Ali Akbar Salehi said in an interview with IRIB 2 last night at Martyr Ahmadi Roshan facility in Natanz, Isfahan province.
“This does not mean that we are producing centrifuges for industrial uses,” Salehi added.
“If we have 180,000 SWUs (separative work unit), the conditions are not again ready and raw materials are not enough to feed [the centrifuges],” he stated, adding “fortunately, after the JCPOA, we could add 400 tons to our raw materials.”
Salehi said that Leader of the Islamic Revolution has ordered them to make preparations for infrastructure at 190,000 SWUs.
The AEOI head added "if we have 190,000 SWUs, we will need 300 tons of uranium annually to feed the centrifuges, but we do not have that amount now. Meanwhile, we are working hard on [uranium] exploration and extraction so that we can satisfy our 300 tons need in the coming years."
Salehi added "we need to prepare all the necessary infrastructure for a million SWUs at Natanz facility, while Natanz now has only the capacity of 48,000 [centrifuges] machines."
”Each centrifuge needs to be tested five to ten years to reach mass production level. For example, IR4 and IR2M that we are using have been tested for more than 10 years,” he noted, adding "we definitely will not be able to have mass production of IR8s centrifuges until the next seven to eight years.”
The head of the AEOI went on to stress “we have to be self-sufficient in fuel and show to others that if they are not willing to give fuel to us, we have the capability to produce it ourselves.”
"Why should a country which has a population of 3 million want to build a plant six times bigger than our power plant in Bushehr," Salehi said, adding that Iran that has population of 82 million and needs its nuclear power plants.
Salehi also noted that his organization is planning to generate 8,000 MW of power in the medium term, while it seeks to produce 20,000 MW in the long term.
Salehi further criticized all those who have claimed that Iran has invested $ 300 billion in its nuclear industry, saying “there must have been a typing error or they do not know what a big amount $ 300 billion is.”
He pointed out “over the past 30 years, the amount of money which has been spent in the AEOI, including investment in exploration and extraction at Natanz, Arak etc. has been about $ 6 billion.”
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