Iran has a new generation of centrifuges, but their use is prohibited

On Saturday, April 10 Iran announced the commissioning of new modernized centrifuges, making it possible to enrich uranium faster. However, the Islamic Republic has banned the use of this type of technology since 2015 and the Vienna Convention on Iran’s Nuclear Energy entered into force.

These announcements come at a time when discussions are taking place in Vienna between the Islamic Republic and other signatories to the 2015 agreement (Germany, China, France, the United Kingdom and Russia) on how to reintegrate the United States into the Union. In the Austrian capital.

On Friday, a US official said, on condition of anonymity, that Washington had submitted proposals indirectly “Very serious” For Iran to revive this agreement and that the Americans were waiting for certainty “exchange” From the Islamic Republic.

More than 200 new generation centrifuges

The measures announced by the Iranian executive authority on Saturday do not go in this direction. President Hassan Rouhani officially inaugurated, through a videoconference ceremony broadcast on state television, a line of 164 centrifuges known as “IR-6” inside the Natanz nuclear complex (central Iran). At the same time, he launched the supply of uranium gas to two more groups: one from 30 IR-5s and the other from 30 IR-6s, with the aim of testing efficiency. The president also began tests to verify Mechanical Stability It is one of the latest generation Iranian centrifuges, called the “IR-9”. State television did not broadcast pictures of the aforementioned falls, but engineers in white coats working in the duplexes confirmed that the centrifuge line had started.

The function of all of these facilities is to enrich uranium faster and in more abundant quantities than “first generation” IR-1 centrifuges, the only ones Iran is permitted to use under the Vienna Agreement – this for production purposes. In terms of research and development, this same agreement allows the Islamic Republic at this point to test only a very limited number of IR-5 and IR-4. Therefore, these new tests contradict the commitments made by Tehran. According to engineers from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the IR-6 and IR-9 centrifuges are ten and fifty times more powerful than the IR-1, respectively.

Mr. Rouhani reiterated the occasion of this organized ceremony for “National Day for Nuclear Technology” That his country’s nuclear program was pure “security”.

The Vienna Agreement was not respected

The Vienna Agreement has been dying since the United States unilaterally left it in 2018, under the presidency of Donald Trump, bringing back an avalanche of economic and financial sanctions against Iran. In response, Tehran began shifting away from its commitments as of May 2019, and the pace has accelerated in recent months.

The new US President, Joe Biden, had declared that he was ready to enter again into the agreement, thus lifting the sanctions after negotiations. For its part, Iran says it is ready to return to the full and full implementation of the text, provided that the United States first lifts all sanctions that it has re-imposed or imposed on Tehran since 2018. Tehran also refuses to have a direct discussion with the United States. States at this point.

Until then, the exchanges that took place this week in Vienna between Iran and its partners regarding the relaunch of the agreement have been judged. “productive” By the European Union, which is coordinating the discussions.

According to Russia, in order ‘Maintaining a positive dynamic’Diplomats from countries still party to the Vienna Convention “We will meet again next week.” In the Austrian capital. According to Tehran, this meeting will be held on Wednesday at the level of deputy foreign ministers.