Iran has started injecting uranium hexafluoride (aka UF6) into its newly developed Advanced IR-8 centrifuges.

Iran has started injecting uranium hexafluoride (aka UF6) into its newly developed Advanced IR-8 centrifuges. (Taz).

Iran has started injecting uranium hexafluoride (aka UF6) into its newly developed IR-8 centrifuges, hailing it as a great step in nuclear enrichment research and development, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran reported January 28.

IR-8 is Iran’s most modern nuclear centrifuge, which is 20 times faster than IR-1, the older model which Iran used before its landmark nuclear deal of 2015.

The organization said that the research and development project is compliant with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Under the terms of the nuclear deal as issued in a fact sheet released by the US State Department last year, Iran “will not use its IR-2, IR-4, IR-5, IR-6, or IR-8 models to produce enriched uranium for at least ten years. For ten years, enrichment and enrichment research and development will be limited to ensure a breakout timeline of at least 1 year.

Beyond 10 years, Iran will abide by its enrichment and enrichment R&D plan submitted to the IAEA, and pursuant to the JCPOA, under the Additional Protocol resulting in certain limitations on enrichment capacity.”

Iran has disputed the US factsheet, however saying that under the accord, it is allowed to conduct R&D on its more advanced centrifuges.


Iran believes the US has violated the nuclear deal by renewing the Iran Sanctions Act in late 2016, which eased sanctions in exchange for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program. Hmmm.....Thanks Hussein Obama. 

Related: 

Rouhani Orders Work on Nuclear Propulsion Device, which means Higher enrichment than allowed.

Rouhani Orders Work on Nuclear Propulsion Device, which means Higher enrichment than allowed.

Iranian President Orders Work on Nuclear Propulsion Device, which means Higher enrichment than allowed. (IFP).

In a directive issued to the head of the AEOI on Tuesday, the Iranian chief executive demanded that the organization draw appropriate plans to design and manufacture nuclear propulsion devices as well as the fuel required for them.

First, President Rouhani said, the AEOI is required "to plan for designing and building propulsion systems to be used in marine transportation in cooperation with scientific and research centers". 

He also asked the Iranian nuclear agency to conduct studies to design "production of fuel for nuclear propulsion systems". 

He instructed Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the AEOI, to report back to him on the issue within a maximum period of three months.

The president said the measures were warranted in light of the United States’ foot-dragging in fulfilling its commitments under the multilateral nuclear deal — known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — and the recent ratification of anti-Iran legislation in the US Congress known as the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA).

President Rouhani said Iran had warned that the approval of the ISA would amount to a breach of the JCPOA.

He said the directives were now being given in implementation of the decisions made by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and the committee tasked with monitoring the implementation of the JCPOA.


In a separate directive issued to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, President Rouhani instructed Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to take action to follow up on the US violations of the JCPOA as per the provisions of the deal and to take other legal and international measures necessary in that regard.

Iran had warned it would take reciprocal action if the ISA was approved. The Islamic Republic has written a letter of complaint to the United Nations over the vote on the legislation at the US Congress.
Hmmm.......This would mean that Iran is moving towards higher enrichment.

U.S. naval reactors are all pressurized water reactors, which are identical to PWR commercial reactors producing electricity, except that:

• they have a high power density in a small volume and run either on low-enriched uranium (as do some French and Chinese submarines) or on highly enriched uranium (>20% U-235, current U.S. submarines use fuel enriched to at least 93%, compared to between 21–45% in current Russian models, although Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker reactors are enriched up to 90%),