This Friday, and in response to a new hostile resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) against Iran’s nuclear program, the Islamic Republic announced plans to activate a “new series of advanced centrifuges”.
“Following the resolution, we immediately began taking corrective actions. We will significantly increase our enrichment capacity,” said Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).
Speaking during a televised interview on Friday, the Iranian officials also noted that “our compensatory measures started right after the resolution,” emphasizing that additional actions will be implemented to strengthen Iran’s infrastructure and security measures.
Kamalvandi further said that Iran had informed the IAEA of its intended measures before the agency’s officials had left the Board of Governors’ meeting.
Russia and China voted against the anti-Iranian resolution
It was on this Thursday that the IAEA Board of Governors voted 19 to 3, with 12 abstentions, to approve a resolution proposed by the US, France, Germany, and the UK against Iran’s nuclear program.
The resolution called on Iran to “urgently improve cooperation” with the agency and demanded a “comprehensive” report on Iran’s nuclear activities.
Although Iran had agreed to an IAEA request to limit its stock of highly enriched uranium to a maximum of 60 percent purity, which is still far below the weapons-grade level of 90 percent, the IAEA adopted the resolution.
Several Western media outlets have reported during recent weeks that the US-led bloc “hopes” the upcoming report, due by spring 2025, will pressure Iran into negotiations over new restrictions on its nuclear program.
But the IAEA’s vote on Thursday marked the fewest votes in the past 21 years for a Board of Governors resolution against Iran. China, Russia, and Burkina Faso voted against the resolution.
Earlier this week, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rebuked the US-led coalition against Iran’s nuclear program and said their efforts to pass their fourth resolution since 2020 would only “complicate” ongoing nuclear talks.
