Atomic Energy Spokesman: Centrifuges Will Be Collected with Reversibility in Mind

Behrouz Kamalvandi states that centrifuges will certainly be collected with the issue of reversibility in mind. Meanwhile, the former head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization has said that shutting down the centrifuges and their reversibility has a '60 percent' loss. According to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) reached on July 14 this year between Iran and six world powers in Vienna, Tehran agreed to phase out its IR-1 centrifuges in the first ten years and its enrichment capacity at the Natanz facility will be a maximum of 5,060 IR-1 centrifuges during this period. Iran's enrichment level is also set at 3.67 percent for the next 15 years. The agreement specifies that additional centrifuges and related enrichment infrastructure in Natanz will be stored under continuous monitoring by the agency. According to published reports, Iran has about 19,000 active centrifuges. Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization, told Iran's state radio that 'in fulfilling Iran's commitments under the JCPOA regarding the collection of centrifuges, the issue of reversibility will definitely be observed.' On Thursday, November 5, he added: 'What has been mentioned regarding the start of dismantling centrifuges refers to inactive devices.' Mr. Kamalvandi emphasized that 'to ensure the reversibility of our nuclear program and the implementation of the other party's commitments regarding the modernization of the Arak heavy water reactor, the collection of active centrifuges will occur simultaneously with the provision of a valid contract regarding the Arak reactor.' The Arak heavy water reactor is set to be redesigned and modernized as part of an international collaboration and will operate using fuel enriched to 3.67 percent for peaceful purposes and the production of radioisotopes for medical and industrial uses. While the spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran has raised the issue of the reversibility of centrifuges, Fereydoun Abbasi, the head of this organization during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency and an opponent of the Vienna agreement, stated that shutting down the centrifuges has a 30 percent loss and we have reached the bottom of our demands. According to Mehr News Agency, he said on Wednesday night, November 4, at the 'Death to America' conference among medical students in Shiraz: 'If a centrifuge is shut down, it has a 30 percent loss, and if it is started up correctly, it has another 30 percent loss.' Mr. Abbasi added: 'Therefore, collecting and reusing it likely has a 60 percent loss, and I have heard that one of my friends said to store the centrifuges in a warehouse using a few Afghan workers.' The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action allows Iran to replace 'non-operational' centrifuges with similar types. In another part of his remarks, Fereydoun Abbasi said that 'the JCPOA has imposed a series of obligations on us' and explicitly referred to Hassan Rouhani's government, adding: 'Some gentlemen, because they thought this work should be done, have wasted the oil spilled, while this work could have been done correctly.' He stated: 'If the gentlemen had solved the people's problems in 500 days instead of 100 days, no problem would have arisen, as people have endured various hardships during these two years; now a deal has been made that we struggled hard to get the bottom of our demands.' Hardline conservatives and Ahmadinejad's government team are the main opponents of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and made significant efforts to reject it during its review in the Islamic Consultative Assembly. However, the ninth parliament voted positively for this agreement, and the Guardian Council also approved it. But Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, outlined nine conditions for its implementation in a letter. He conditioned two issues, 'the removal of the Arak reactor core and the transfer of fuel reserves,' on the closure of the 'PMD' file or the potentially military aspects of Iran's nuclear program. In recent days, conflicting reports have emerged regarding the beginning of the JCPOA's implementation and the collection of centrifuges. While Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization, stated on November 2 to the Japanese news agency Kyodo that Iran has begun implementing the nuclear agreement by collecting some of its centrifuges at the Natanz nuclear facility, Abbas Araqchi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, told state television that 'no centrifuge has been collected yet, and the Atomic Energy Organization is preparing the groundwork. The collection of centrifuges may begin in the coming days.' The announcement of the collection of centrifuges from the Natanz site led to protests from 20 parliament members, who issued a warning to President Hassan Rouhani, demanding the halt of the order to collect centrifuges from Fordow and Natanz. These representatives stated that until the conditions mentioned in the letter from the leader of the Islamic Republic and its first clause are met, centrifuges should not be collected. Ayatollah Khamenei stated in the first clause of his letter that a written guarantee regarding the lifting of sanctions on Iran should be obtained from the President of the United States and the European Union.