Instead, the IAEA document showed Iran was preparing to install thousands more centrifuges based on an erratic and outdated design, both in its main enrichment plant at Natanz and in a smaller facility at Fordow buried deep underground.
“It appears that they are still struggling with the advanced centrifuges,” said Olli Heinonen, a former chief nuclear inspector for the Vienna-based U.N. body.
“We do not know whether the reasons for delays are lack of raw materials or design problems,” he said…
Asked whether Iran may keep more advanced centrifuges at a location which U.N. inspectors were not aware of, an official familiar with the issue said: “That is, of course, the million dollar question.”
If Iran eventually succeeds in introducing the newer models for production, it could significantly shorten the time needed to produce material that can have, if processed much further, military as well as civilian uses.
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