New Cluster of IR6 Centrifuges Operational at Fordow 

Iran’s new cluster of centrifuges recently installed and run in its Fordow nuclear site has produced uranium enriched to 20% purity as its end product, a senior nuclear official said. 
“The production of 20% enriched uranium from this cluster was the final technical part of this preannounced measure,” Spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Behrouz Kamalvandi was quoted as saying by ISNA.
He added that the International Atomic Energy Agency has been informed at least two weeks ahead of Iran’s move to feed a new cascade of IR6 centrifuge machines with UF6 (uranium hexafluoride gas). 
“This project was carried out as part of the AEOI’s legal tasks to launch and feed 1000 IR6 centrifuge machines [six clusters],” he said. 
The IAEA said it was informed on July 7 that Iran had begun feeding the aforementioned cascade with UF6 enriched up to 5% U-235, according to a Saturday report seen by Reuters. 
“On 9 July 2022, the Agency verified that Iran had begun feeding UF6 enriched up to 5% U-235 into the cascade of 166 IR-6 centrifuges with modified sub-headers for the declared purpose of producing UF6 enriched up to 20% U-235,” the report read.
Western countries have long expressed concern about devices this cluster of centrifuges is equipped with, arguing that the use of these so-called modified sub-headers means Iran could switch more quickly and easily to enriching to higher purity levels.
Iran has already been enriching to 60% in other plants, but denies any intention to develop a nuclear weapon, maintaining that the technology is exclusively aimed at civil purposes. 
Under a 2015 deal with the world powers, Iran had agreed to cap its enrichment level at 3.67%, along with other nuclear restrictions, in return for sanctions relief. 
It began to exceed those limits in response to the tough sanctions that the United States reimposed after its unilateral exit in 2018 from the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. 
A parliamentary law passed in February 2021 has laid out countermeasures to be carried out by the AEOI unless sanctions are fully removed. 
The recent advancements come as negotiations in Vienna, Austria, to revive the JCPOA and its economic benefits for Iran have reached an impasse.
Tehran has also curbed its voluntary cooperation with the IAEA, both in reaction to the violation of the JCPOA and a recent anti-Iran resolution passed by the Board of Governors over a claimed safeguards issues. 
The western-sponsored resolution censured Iran for failing to provide credible explanations about uranium particles allegedly found at three undeclared sites while Iran stressed that its answers were disregarded by the director general. 
The Islamic Republic removed 27 IAEA surveillance cameras operating beyond its safeguards obligations in response.