Iran has installed 1,600 centrifuges used for enriching uranium and is pressing ahead with more as part of its nuclear program, a senior Iranian official was quoted May 17 as saying.
The figure confirms what diplomats who follow IranÂ’s case have been saying about the number installed so far. Iran has said it is setting up 3,000 of the machines, which can make fuel for nuclear power plants or, if desired, material for warheads.
Iran insists its plans are peaceful, although Western capitals say TehranÂ’s goal is nuclear bombs.
“Iran is installing 3,000 centrifuges in the Natanz facility and currently has 1,600 active centrifuges,” Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli, deputy secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, was quoted as saying by Iran’s Mehr News Agency.
Natanz is in central Iran.
With 3,000 centrifuges, all running smoothly, Iran could make enough material for at least one warhead in a year, Western diplomats say. But they have said the country has faced technical glitches with smaller numbers hampering the work. Iran has said its goal to build more than 50,000 centrifuges. |