“Iran has taken the fourth step in scaling back its commitments under the nuclear deal, in which, 1,044 centrifuges have been injected with gas,” Behrouz Kamalvandi said at a press conference held at Fordow nuclear site on Saturday.
Noting that Iran has requested the International Atomic Energy Agency to monitor Iran’s activities regarding the uranium enrichment, the spokesman said, “The agency’s inspectors will carry out their monitoring and verification activities at the site tomorrow [Sunday, November 10].”
Kamalvandi said that the level of purity of enrichment will reach 4.5 percent when the inspectors will come back to check the process again.
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran announced on Wednesday (November 6) it had officially started injecting gas into 1,044 centrifuges at the underground Fordow nuclear plant in the fourth step away from the 2015 nuclear deal. The 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), allowed the first-generation IR-1 centrifuges at Fordow to spin without uranium gas.
The fourth step in Iran’s commitment reductions was initially announced by President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday.
Tehran says the suspension of its commitments is not a violation of the JCPOA but is based on Articles 26 and 36 of the agreement itself.
The fate of the Iran deal has been in doubt since May 2018, when the US abruptly abandoned the deal and reinstated the anti-Iran sanctions that it had lifted as part of the JCPOA.
Iran says the European cosignatories — Britain, Germany, and France — have so far failed to uphold their commitments. They have expressed vocal support for the deal but failed to provide meaningful economic incentives as required under the nuclear agreement.
With regard to an IAEA inspector who was prevented from entering Natanz nuclear site, Kamalvandi stressed on Iran’s security concerns over its nuclear facilities, saying the inspector was not let in the facility as the sensors had detected that she was carrying dangerous materials.
He said in view of the past record of acts of sabotage against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities, Iran will under no circumstances compromise its national security and security of its nuclear facilities.
Noting that the country has resumed some 87% to 90% of pre-JCPOA enrichments, the spokesman said, “our overall enrichment capacity has reached about 9,500 SWU,” which is the level the country held before signing the JCPOA.
“The extent we can go toward 1 million SWU will depend on the capacity of our machines,” he added.
He noted that Iran will not stop its retaliatory measures, adding that the next steps will not be limited to technical issues, and can cover other aspects.
“The AEOI had even considered leaving NPT,” he noted.
Kamalvandi also dismissed the claims that say Iran has a secret warehouse in Tehran.
“Turquzabad is an ordinary place; it is not our site; in our sites, everything is under good control,” he added.
Last year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that there was a secret atomic warehouse in Tehran’s Turquzabad.
The spokesman also reacted to the EU remaining parties' comments that described Iran's decision as "unacceptable" or "grave", saying the Europeans are not in a position to take the case to the UN Security Council, and they would better live up their obligations to the deal.
Referring to the country's nuclear capabilities and rejecting the US, Israeli regime, and some Arab countries' claims about the possibility of Iran's move toward nuclear weapons, he said we are able to enrich uranium up to 60 percent but we will act based on the country's needs.
MNA/13980817000759
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