Iran Planning 20-Fold Increase in Uranium Enrichment

JERUSALEM, Israel – A spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization says its new IR-8 centrifuge machines will increase uranium enrichment capacity 20 times over the IR-1 machines currently in use.

The IR-8s are manufactured in Iran.

"The enrichment capacity of IR-8 centrifuge is 20 SWU per year and the [country's] enrichment capacity will increase 20 times after the mass production of this machine," the organization's spokesman said.

The new machine, being tested with enriched uranium gas, will be mass produced eight years after the implementation of the U.S.-led Iranian nuclear deal signed on January 16, 2016.

The spokesman called the new centrifuge machine "a significant development in the nuclear enrichment industry," saying it does not counter the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Under the deal, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear programs in exchange for lifting economic sanctions.

The spokesman said Iran will unveil 20 new advances in nuclear medicine production over the next two months.