Iran Supplies Nuclear Material to Fordow
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said a shipment of nuclear materials is sent to the Fordow facility to feed the centrifuge machines in the fourth step of reducing Tehran’s commitment to the 2015 nuclear deal.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday night, Behrouz Kamalvandi said the shipment of nuclear materials would be sent to the Fordow nuclear site on Wednesday in preparation for the formal beginning of the fourth stage of reduction in Iran’s commitments to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Iran’s fourth step will be taken on the stroke of midnight Wednesday, and uranium hexafluoride (UF6) will be injected into the centrifuge machines that previously spun empty, he added.
Kamalvandi said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been also informed about the shipment of the nuclear cargo to Fordow.
He also noted that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, now around 500 kilograms, would increase by some 6 kilograms per day as soon as the centrifuges of Fordow start working.
President Hassan Rouhani announced on Tuesday that in reaction to the continued failure of the European parties to meet their obligations to the nuclear deal, Tehran on Wednesday would take the 4th step in reducing its commitments under the JCPOA.
In remarks last month, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said Iran will continue to reduce the JCPOA commitments until it gets the desirable results.
“Reduction of the nuclear commitments, which is a responsibility of the Atomic Energy Organization (of Iran), must continue with full seriousness and in a precise and comprehensive manner, as announced by the administration, until it achieves the appropriate result, and it will definitely yield results,” the Leader said.
In May 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the JCPOA.
Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the JCPOA after the US withdrawal, but the three EU parties to the deal (France, Britain, and Germany) have failed to ensure Iran’s economic interests.
The EU’s inaction forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments to the nuclear deal, including a rise in the stockpile of enriched uranium.
Iran maintains that the new measures are not designed to harm the JCPOA but to save the accord by creating a balance in the commitments.
