Development of New-Generation Centrifuge Machines Progressing Well

Projects of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran on advancing new-generation centrifuge machines are in the best state, while uranium enrichment has officially reached the 60% purity level, a senior nuclear official said in a briefing on the industry’s achievements. 
“The strategic action plan created good conditions for the country,” AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said in a meeting with a number of lawmakers at the organization on Saturday, according to ISNA. 
He was referring to a parliamentary law which required the AEOI to take further steps beyond the limits of the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in addition to previous measures in response to the United States’ withdrawal. 
The law, which aimed to help efforts to lift sanctions and protect the rights of the Iranian nation, was passed in February 2021, amid talks in Vienna, Austria, to restore the JCPOA by working out how both sides could resume compliance. 
The 2015 deal had curbed Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. 
While the Vienna negotiations have been stalled for months over final differences, Iran is pursuing its nuclear plans as per the Majlis law. 
Head of the AEOI Mohammad Eslami also said the strategic action plan was a useful law for the development of the country’s nuclear industry and has been implemented properly. 
“Implementation of this law pushed up enrichment to such a level that today, the country’s enrichment capacity is more than twice as much as the whole history of the industry,” he said without giving details. 
He added that a comprehensive document has been drawn up for the progress of the industry at indigenous level, based on which the AEOI’s plans are being carried out. 
“Nuclear energy and generating atomic electricity have resulted in great saving in the country’s economy, while helping decrease the consumption of nonrenewable fossil fuels and alleviating environmental problems,” he said. 
Eslami also called for allocation of budget for the development of nuclear knowledge to help other sectors such as health and agriculture. 

Public Use 

Later during the meeting, Mohammad Qannadi, an AEOI deputy, elaborated on the organization’s long-term strategic plan. 
“Under the new management, efforts were made to use the indigenous nuclear knowledge, which is the outcome of domestic experts’ hard work, for public use, so that the organization would transform from a research complex to an industrial and functional center for the country,” he said. 
Using nuclear knowledge for the production of medicine for different diseases such as cancers and heart problems, agricultural pest control and irradiation of food for longer preservation are among common uses of the technology at public level, he explained. 
“Besides, development of power plants to generate energy via nuclear industry and building indigenous reactors are among main plans of the AEOI so that people can feel the sweet taste of nuclear knowledge,” he added. 
The advances are made while Iranian officials underline the peaceful nature of the country’s nuclear program, stressing that it remains within the framework of the Non-Proliferation Treaty despite exceeding the limits of the JCPOA. 
They also maintain Iran’s commitment to full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency under the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement. 
The agency, however, has raised questions about uranium particles allegedly found at undeclared sites in Iran, and has so far rejected the country’s explanation as uncredible, leading to the passing of two resolutions at the IAEA Board of Governors. 
Tehran says the questions are based on fabricated data and the probe has to end before any deal on JCPOA revival is inked. 
Along this line, officials from the agency are set to visit Tehran on Sunday for discussions on the issue, after an earlier trip was cancelled as a result of Western countries’ push for a new resolution in November.  
Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov welcomed the rescheduled meeting. 
“It’s encouraging that the pause in talks did not last long. However, no one expects that breakthroughs will be achieved at the upcoming meeting. Still, hopefully, it will create conditions for a more detailed and substantive conversation in order to settle the unresolved issues,” he told TASS.