Following Washington’s decision to impose sanctions on firms facilitating Iranian petroleum exports, Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) chief Behrouz Kamalvandi announced on Monday that Iran plans to “launch and inject gas” to hundreds of IR-1 and IR-6 advanced centrifuges, a move that would put it even closer to developing a nuclear weapon.
Kamalvandi said the decision was in line with the ‘Law on Strategic Action on Removing Sanctions and Safeguarding the Interests of the Iranian Nation,’ approved in 2020. The law calls on the AEOI to continue uranium enrichment until the United States (US) lifts all sanctions and revives the 2015 nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
He noted that Tehran had notified the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about the measure.
The announcement came just hours after the US Treasury Department sanctioned firms selling Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products. The Department took action against several Chinese, Emirati, and Malaysian companies used by Iran’s Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industry “to facilitate the sale of tens of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products from Iran to East Asia.”
Washington has continued to target firms that act as front agencies for Iranian petroleum companies. For instance, in June, it imposed sanctions on several Chinese and Emirati companies for helping Iran evade sanctions on trade activities and stressed that it would continue to sanction Iranian petroleum exports unless Iran returned to compliance with the JCPOA.
Iran has informed the IAEA that it's launching and injecting uranium gas into "hundreds" of centrifuges, including IR-1 and IR-6 machines, according to the spox of the country's atomic energy org.
— Kian Sharifi (@KianSharifi) August 1, 2022
Kamalvandi said this is a part of efforts to launch 1,000 IR-6 centrifuges. pic.twitter.com/BzVIDOH7gz
However, efforts to revive the JCPOA have failed, as Western countries have accused Iran of accelerating its nuclear programme. Iran halted its cooperation with the IAEA in June after the agency passed a resolution condemning Tehran for concealing its nuclear activities. The resolution, sponsored by the US and several of its allies, was the first time since 2020 that the agency formally condemned Iran. In response, Tehran removed 27 surveillance cameras installed by the agency at nuclear sites across the country.
Furthermore, in July, Iran announced that it started enriching uranium up to 20% at the Fordow nuclear plant as part of a plan to install 1,000 advanced IR-6 centrifuges and inject gas into them. According to the IAEA, the new centrifuges could “easily change between enrichment levels,” indicating that Iran would be able to ramp up uranium enrichment to 90%, which is considered weapons-grade.
Moreover, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-affiliated media said last week that Iran would be able to manufacture a nuclear weapon in the shortest possible time if Israel or the US attacked its nuclear facilities. It also threatened to nuke both countries in retaliation.
Against this backdrop, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned that a small mistake by either side could lead to disastrous consequences for the world. At the 2022 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference in New York, Guterres said tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme, nuclear threats by North Korea, and the Russia-Ukraine war had increased the threat of atomic warfare. “Humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation,” he remarked.