Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi said the country has the necessary infrastructure at the Natanz nuclear facility for enrichment of uranium up to 190,000 separative work units (SWUs).
Speaking on state TV late Wednesday, aired live from a newly-built facility used for assembling centrifuge machines, Salehi said the Natanz nuclear complex in central Iran has been configured to accommodate 48,000 centrifuge machines, meaning it has the potential for uranium enrichment up to a level of one million SWU, Tasnim News Agency reported.
An SWU is a measurement of the effort necessary for the separation of isotopes of uranium.
Leader’s Order
In a speech earlier this week, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei once again warned the Europeans against standing idly in the face of US pressures on Iran, saying European governments cannot expect the “Iranian nation to both put up with sanctions and give up its nuclear activities and continue to uphold restrictions.”
The Leader ordered the national nuclear agency to prepare the grounds for boosting nuclear enrichment capacity up to the level of 190,000 SWU under the auspices of the JCPOA.
Salehi said as per current capacities, “We cannot produce centrifuges at our desired levels because we have limitations under the nuclear deal and the Leader has said that for now we operate under the nuclear deal.”
Regarding the call for 190,000 SWUs, which is what the Leader first called for in 2014, Salehi said, “If we connect the sixth-generation centrifuges with 60,000 machines, we can reach 190,000 SWU within 10 months by installing advanced centrifuges.”
Cost of Nuclear Program
Salehi also addressed the cost of Iran’s nuclear program. Over the past 30 years, Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization has spent $6.5 billion and $1.5 billion went for completing the Bushehr nuclear plant. He said the Bushehr nuclear power plant’s value is now $5 billion, far more than Iran has spent on the plant.
Regarding efforts to save the international nuclear deal, Salehi said, “The problems with the deal are not technical but the refusal of the other side in fulfilling their banking and economic commitments.” He said that Europe is in a “political predicament” between maintaining its political independence while resisting American pressure to curb economic ties with Iran.
