JERUSALEM, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Tuesday accused Iran of working on the production and installation of advanced uranium centrifuges at a new underground site.
"Iran is making an effort to complete the production and installation of 1,000 advanced IR-6 centrifuges at its nuclear facilities, including a new facility being built at an underground site near Natanz," Gantz told a security conference at the Reichman University in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv.
He warned that Iran stands just "a few weeks away" from accumulating fissile material that would be sufficient for a first bomb.
According to Gantz, Iran has also "significantly increased" the amount of its long-term strategic weapons over the past year.
Iran has yet to respond to Gantz's allegations.
Israel considers Iran its arch-enemy and fears that a renewal of the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal would enable Tehran to pursue nuclear weapons without the burden of sanctions.
According to a report issued by the UN International Atomic Energy Agency on March 3, Iran had installed or planned to install some 600 IR-6 centrifuges. ■
