by i24 News and Algemeiner Staff
Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA headquarters, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
i24 News – Iran has reportedly resumed production of advanced centrifuges at a nuclear site that the regime accused Israel of blowing up in June.
Unidentified diplomats familiar with Tehran’s activities told The Wall Street Journal that the Karaj facility in northern Iran restarted in August, and operations have since ramped up.
The sources expressed concern that Iran could divert advanced centrifuges to undeclared sites in order to move closer to a nuclear weapon.
One diplomat suggested that enough parts for 170 centrifuges have been produced since the facility reopened.
Centrifuges are necessary to enrich uranium, which can be used for both civilian applications or — at higher levels of purity — to produce nuclear weapons.
Since the renewal of production, Iran has refused access to the facility by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Journal reported.
In September, Iran acknowledged that it removed surveillance cameras installed by nuclear inspectors.
While there is reportedly no evidence that Iran has diverted the centrifuge parts for use in a weapons program, one sourced diplomat suggested that “as the number of unmonitored centrifuges increases, the likelihood for this scenario increases.”
In July, Iran accused Israel of a sabotage attack on the Karaj facility in June.
According to The Journal, the IAEA said that one of its cameras was destroyed and another heavily damaged in the blast.
The head of the IAEA said last month that its monitoring program at the facility was “no longer intact.”
