Iran has begun equipping a third secure uranium enrichment facility and fully upgrading its Fordow site with advanced centrifuges, senior officials said Thursday, following the International Atomic Energy Agency finding Tehran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations.
Atomic Energy Organization spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said the newly authorized site will be designed with “very high security standards” and become Iran’s third enrichment complex.
He said that first-generation centrifuges at the Fordow enrichment plant will be completely replaced with IR-6 machines, a move expected to “significantly increase Iran’s enriched uranium production capacity.”
“These steps carry both technical and strategic weight and send a clear message: the more pressure is applied, the stronger Iran’s response will be,” Kamalvandi said during a visit to the Tehran Research Reactor.
He described the IAEA's non-compliance resolution—backed by the US, UK, France, and Germany—as “coercive and unjust,” and warned Western powers against repeating failed pressure tactics.
Kamalvandi also noted that Iran’s 60% enrichment capacity has already increased sevenfold compared to previous cycles and that more capacity is now being added.
Separately, Atomic Energy Organization head Mohammad Eslami said that the location for the third enrichment facility has already been built and prepared, describing it as “a secure site from a security standpoint.” He added that with a formal letter sent to the IAEA on Thursday, “the operation to equip and install machines has now begun.”
“The enrichment industry is part of the Iranian people’s spirit and will not disappear,” Eslami said.
First resolution against Iran in 20 years
The announcement came after the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation board passed a resolution declaring Iran in non-compliance with its safeguards obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)—the first such move in nearly two decades.
The resolution text, seen by Reuters, cited “many failures to uphold its obligations since 2019” and Tehran’s lack of cooperation “regarding undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple undeclared locations.”
The resolution was adopted with 19 votes in favor, 3 against, from Iran's allies in Russia, China and Burkina Faso, and 11 abstentions.
Iran rejects allegations, cites safeguards compliance
In a joint statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the Atomic Energy Organization condemned the resolution, calling it a “politically motivated” move lacking legal and technical basis.
The statement added that Iran had consistently honored its safeguards obligations and that no evidence of diversion had been found in IAEA reports.
“This action is a repeated instrumental use of the Board, based on political motives and lacking technical and legal foundation,” the statement said.
It added, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has always remained committed to its safeguards obligations, and so far none of the Agency’s reports have referred to non-compliance or diversion in Iran’s nuclear materials or activities.”
Later Thursday, a senior IAEA official told Reuters that Iran has informed the agency of its intention to establish a new enrichment site but has not yet provided further technical details.
