“On 6 February 2013, the Agency observed that Iran had started the installation of IR-2m centrifuges” at the Natanz plant, the International Atomic Energy Agency report said.
“This is the first time that centrifuges more advanced than the IR-1 have been installed” at the plant in central Iran, the UN atomic watchdog added.
One official said that Iran intended to install around 3,000 of the new centrifuges at Natanz — where around 12,500 of the older models are installed — enabling it to speed up the enrichment of uranium.
This process is at the heart of the international community’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme, since uranium enriched at high levels can be used in a nuclear weapon.
News of this advanced equipment drew an immediate reaction Thursday from Washington, which called it “yet another provocative step” by Iran.
The installation “would be a further escalation and a continuing violation of Iran’s obligations under the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and IAEA board resolutions,” US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, noting however that the new centrifuges came as no surprise.
Britain expressed “serious concern” about the latest development, with Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt calling it “another signal that Iran has no intention of providing the necessary reassurance… that its nuclear programme is for purely peaceful purposes.”