UN watchdog says Iran has installed more centrifuges at Fordow enrichment plant

Iran has rapidly installed two more cascades, or clusters, of uranium-enriching centrifuges at its Fordow site and begun work on more while also planning others at its underground plant at Natanz, a UN nuclear watchdog report seen by Reuters says.

“On 9 and 10 June… Iran informed the Agency that eight cascades each containing 174 IR-6 centrifuges would be installed over the next 3-4 weeks in Unit 1 of FFEP (Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant),” the confidential International Atomic Energy Agency report sent to member states today says.

“On 11 June 2024, the Agency verified at FFEP that Iran had completed the installation of IR-6 centrifuges in two cascades in Unit 1. Installation of IR-6 centrifuges in four additional cascades was ongoing,” the report says, referring to one of one of Iran’s most advanced centrifuge models.