TEHRAN, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said Monday that Iran's production of 20 percent uranium from IR-6 centrifuges is not a new thing, stressing that Tehran had earlier informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of it.
Behrouz Kamalvandi made the remarks in reaction to a Saturday report by Reuters about Iran's enrichment of uranium to 20 percent purity, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency.
He noted that the AEOI is obligated to activate a number of centrifuges to raise its enrichment capacity to 190,000 SWU based on a strategic law passed by the Iranian parliament in December 2020 to counter U.S. sanctions.
Kamalvandi reiterated that Iran will immediately reverse all its remedial measures and fulfill its obligations as soon as the other side returns to its commitments.
Reuters, on Saturday, cited a report by the IAEA that confirmed Iran had escalated its uranium enrichment with advanced machines. The news agency once again underlined the West's concerns about Iran's nuclear program.
Iran signed a nuclear deal, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear program in return for the removal of sanctions on the country. Iran is obliged under the 2015 nuclear agreement to limit its uranium enrichment to 3.67 percent purity.
However, Iran started gradually reducing its commitments to the agreement one year after former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally took his country out of the JCPOA in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Tehran.
Iran is already enriching uranium to 60 percent, well above the 20 percent it produced before the 2015 deal. ■
