Inspectors from the UN’s atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), have confirmed Iran has started building an underground centrifuge assembly plant after its previous one exploded in what Tehran called a sabotage attack over the summer.
Satellite photos also show activity at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility. Since August, Iran has built a new or regraded road to the south of Natanz towards what analysts believe is a former firing range for security forces at the enrichment facility, images from the San Francisco-based Planet Labs reveal.
Iran also continues to stockpile greater amounts of low-enriched uranium, but does not appear to possess enough to produce a weapon, Rafael Grossi, director-general of the IAEA , told the AP on Tuesday.
Following the July explosion at the Natanz nuclear site, Tehran said it would build a new, more secure, structure in the mountains around the area.
“They have started, but it’s not completed… It’s a long process”, Grossi said.
