Iran Begins Operating IR-6 Cascade at Natanz: Verification and Monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in Light of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015) (GOV/INF/2022/18)

August 29, 2022

Weapon Program: 

  • Nuclear

1. This report of the Director General to the Board of Governors and, in parallel, to the United Nations Security Council (Security Council), is on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s (Iran’s) implementation of its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in relation to its enrichment-related activities. It provides an update on developments since the Director General’s previous reports.

Activities Related to Enrichment

2. As previously reported, on 2 August 2022, the Agency verified at the Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) at Natanz that Iran had completed the installation of the three planned IR-6 cascades, each of which comprised up to 174 IR-6 centrifuges. At that time, the three cascades were under vacuum and none of them had yet been fed with nuclear material.

3. On 17 August 2022, the Agency verified at FEP that, in preparation for the production of UF6 enriched up to 5% U-235, Iran had begun feeding natural UF6 into one of the aforementioned three cascades for passivation purposes (whereby the tails and product are recombined). On 22 August 2022, a cylinder of UF6 enriched up to 2% U-235, previously verified by the Agency, was attached to the process at FEP and placed under Agency containment and surveillance measures in preparation for its use as feed material for the production of UF6 enriched up to 5% U-235.

4. On 27 August 2022, Iran informed the Agency that one of the aforementioned IR-6 cascades was being fed with UF6 enriched up to 2% U-235 for the purpose of producing UF6 enriched up to 5% U-235. On 28 August 2022, the Agency verified at FEP that Iran was feeding UF6 enriched up to 2% U-235 into the IR-6 cascade previously subject to passivation, for the production of UF6 enriched up to 5% U-235. The Agency also verified that Iran had begun feeding depleted UF6 into one of the other two IR6 cascades for passivation purposes; and that the third IR-6 cascade installed at FEP had not been fed with nuclear material. 

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