Iran has begun installing advanced centrifuges in its uranium enrichment complex, accelerating activity that could give it the means to make atomic bombs in future if it chooses, according to a Reuters report citing diplomatic sources. Iran installed 300 centrifuges, a basis for industrial scale enrichment, in the underground Natanz production hall last year. However, their design dates back to the 1970s and they are prone to breakdown.
After a pause of several months, Iran has now arranged more than 300 centrifuges divided into two cascades (interlinked networks) to expand beyond 300, diplomats told Reuters.
"One of the two cascades is using the advanced model, the other the older one.” said one of the diplomats on condition of anonymity, adding: “ Iran may not have had enough of the advanced modelse ready yet to put into two cascades, but they wanted to show the world they could go beyond the threshold of 300 now enriching at Natanz."
In an interview with the Japanese ‘Kyodo’ news agency published on Friday, Iran’s president Mahmud Ahmadinejad said he would reject any new incentives offered by world powers in return for suspending Iran’s nuclear program. "This is a non-negotiable subject," Ahmadinejad was as saying. He added that the suspension of its uranium enrichment was an issue related to the past as "we have passed this stage."
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