Iran starts 20% uranium enrichment at Fordow facility

PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran has started the process of producing uranium with 20% enrichment at Fordow facility, Mehr News Agency cited government spokesman Ali Rabiei as saying օn Monday, January 4.

Rabiei pointed to Iran’s counteractive plan to enrich uranium to up to 20% purity, saying that the gas injection process into centrifuges started “hours ago” following President Hassan Rouhani’s recent order on the implementation of the plan.

Rabiei noted that the enrichment started on Monday morning while the pre-requisite measures such as informing the International Atomic Energy Agency and submitting a questionnaire based on the country's safeguard obligations have been taken.

The first UF6 product was supposed to be available within the next hours, the spokesman said.

The Iranian parliament approved a bill in December aimed at the lifting of sanctions after the failure of JCPOA’s European parties to fulfill commitments and in wake of the assassination of an Iranian scientist.

The plan obliges the AEOI to produce at least 120 kg of 20% enriched uranium annually and store it inside the country within two months after the adoption of the law.

According to the motion, the AEOI should start the installation, gas injection, enrichment, and storage of nuclear materials up to an appropriate enrichment degree within a period of three months using at least 1,000 IR-2m centrifuges.