The Islamic Republic violated the terms of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal when Tehran elected to install advanced centrifuges just months ago. Surpassing previous violations, this hardware is now being put to use.
In what is only the most recent development regarding the Iranian regime’s violations of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Iran nuclear deal, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has announced that the Islamic Republic is now enriching uranium via advanced IR-2m centrifuges. Tehran installed the centrifuges at its underground Natanz nuclear plant in late 2020, which was a violation of the terms of the JCPOA by itself. Putting the items to use further extends the regime’s growing violations.
Despite the several steps that Tehran has taken putting them in breach of the deal, they insist that they have no intention of weaponizing their nuclear program.
Reuters quoted a report from the IAEA stating that “On 7 March 2021, the Agency verified at FEP that: Iran had begun feeding natural UF6 into the third cascade of 174 IR-2m centrifuges…The fourth cascade of 174 IR-2m centrifuges was installed but had yet to be fed with natural UF6; installation of a fifth cascade of IR-2m centrifuges was ongoing; and installation of a sixth cascade of IR-2m centrifuges had yet to begin.”
Another area where the Republic has breached the nuclear deal involves its enriched uranium stockpile, which was most recently estimated to be more than ten times the limit set in the deal’s terms – 300 kilograms. Furthermore, multiple sites that were never disclosed by Tehran have been discovered by the IAEA where nuclear activity occurred behind the scenes.
