Iran is now enriching uranium to high purity levels using advanced centrifuges underground, according to Reuters.
The Iranian regime recently installed three sets of IR-6 centrifuges at the underground Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant, one of which is being used to enrich uranium, according to an internal report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which was viewed on Monday by Reuters.
Of the two other centrifuge sets installed in the underground plant, one was undergoing a process called passivation with depleted UF6, which is carried out before enrichment begins, and the other had not yet processed any nuclear material, the agency said.
UF6, or uranium hexafluoride, is the gas centrifuges enrich, according to Reuters.
The IR-6 is far more advanced than the first-generation IR-1 centrifuge, which is the only model the 2015 nuclear deal allows Iran to enrich with. According to the Washington Examiner, the country was prohibited from enriching beyond 3.67%.
Tehran has been using IR-6 centrifuges for more than a year at an above-ground plant at Natanz, according to Reuters, enriching uranium to up to 60%, which is nearly weapons-grade.
According to the World Nuclear Association, uranium is considered weapons-grade when it is enriched to approximately 90% purity.
A second cluster of IR-6 centrifuges began enriching to up to 20% last month at Fordow, a site buried inside a mountain.
In the confidential report provided to United Nations member states, the IAEA wrote: "On 28 August 2022, the Agency verified at FEP that Iran was feeding UF6 enriched up to 2% U-235 into the IR-6 cascade ... for the production of UF6 enriched up to 5% U-235."
The IAEA report comes as both Iran and the United States make arduous progress on reinstating the 2015 deal, which was scrapped in 2018 by former President Donald Trump.
The Examiner reports that the U.S. is waiting for a response from Iran to the Biden administration's most recent comments on the draft submitted by the European Union.
The White House confirmed new progress last week when Iran withdrew key demands in the negotiations.
"We're not there yet," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said last week, adding that "a lot of gaps remain."
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