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Iran Operating Centrifuge Parts Workshop at Natanz, IAEA Says

Iran is operating a new workshop at its Natanz nuclear site that makes centrifuge parts, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday in a confidential report to member states that was seen by the Reuters news agency. The machines to manufacture the centrifuge parts was moved recently from a nuclear workshop in Karaj, which has been closed.

The IAEA, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, noted in the report that it has installed surveillance cameras at the site, though it did not name Natanz specifically. Iran informed the IAEA on April 13 that the machines would start operating the same day at the new facility, Reuters reported, citing the report.

The IAEA had installed cameras to monitor activity at Iran’s nuclear facility in Karaj, west of Tehran, under the 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. In June 2021, Iran said the facility suffered sabotage that it blamed on Israel. After that, Iran removed all the cameras. It allowed the IAEA to install new ones in December.