The head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization (OIEA) said on Sunday (September 13) that 1,044 centrifuges were currently in operation at the Fordo underground plant, in accordance with the disengagement of the Iran nuclear deal announced by Tehran.
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The suspension of all uranium enrichment activities at this plant located near the holy city of Qom was one of the commitments made by Iran under the international agreement concluded in Vienna in 2015 and intended to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions against it.
But in May 2019, a year after the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from this pact accompanied by a return of heavy sanctions from Washington against Tehran, Iran announced that it was going to break free from some of its commitments.
In early November, Iran announced a fourth phase of disengagement and relaunched its uranium enrichment activities at Fordo, 180 kilometers south of Tehran, prompting a joint protest from France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Uni - parties to the agreement - and the European Union.
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Currently, 1,044 centrifuges enrich Fordo,
” Ali Akbar Saléhi, head of the OIEA, told Parliament's official agency Icana on Sunday.
"
We were committed (as part of the agreement) that these 1044 machines do not enrich, but this is done as part of our disengagement and our needs,
" he added, adding that Iran therefore also stored enriched uranium.
As part of the deal, Tehran pledged to limit its inventory of enriched uranium, its level of enrichment, the number of its centrifuges and the development of advanced centrifuges.
Iran has disengaged on each of these points.
In early September, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that the stockpile of low-enriched uranium was more than ten times the limit authorized by the agreement.
The remaining parties to the deal have repeatedly called on Iran to reverse its decision.
Tehran insists on its reversibility if the favorable economic benefits hoped for after the agreement materialize.
Tensions between Tehran and Washington have grown steadily since the US withdrawal from the agreement.
Since then, the two enemies have appeared twice on the verge of direct confrontation.