Iran’s supreme leader ordered officials to speed up preparations to deploy machines for advanced nuclear enrichment, putting renewed pressure on European states seeking to keep the Islamic Republic in the landmark nuclear accord in the face of renewed US sanctions.
“The Atomic Energy Organisation is obliged to quickly make preparations to reach to 190,000 SWU within the nuclear agreement,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech on Monday. “The Iranian nation and its government will not tolerate to be both subject to sanctions and have its nuclear programme restricted and imprisoned.”
SWUs — or separative work units — are a measure of uranium enrichment capacity. Under the 2015 nuclear accord, Tehran will be permitted to increase its enrichment efficiency by the end of the next decade just before the deal is due to expire. But speeding up preparations now could allow Iran to ramp up production more quickly after that date.