US Likely to Agree to Keep Fordow Centrifuges 'Without Uranium Enrichment'

The Associated Press reports that the United States is likely to allow Iran to maintain hundreds of active centrifuges at the underground enrichment site in Fordow, while limiting their activities at other nuclear facilities in return. On Thursday, April 6, citing 'Western officials close to the details of the nuclear negotiations,' the news agency reported that if a final agreement is reached, Iran could have hundreds of active centrifuges at Fordow, although these centrifuges would not be permitted to enrich uranium and the Fordow facility would be subject to international inspections. In exchange, Iran would need to reduce the number of its centrifuges at the Natanz facility and accept other restrictions on its nuclear-related activities. According to the report, the active centrifuges at Fordow would be fed with other elements such as zinc, xenon, or germanium for isotopic separation for medical or scientific purposes, elements that unlike uranium, cannot be used in the construction of nuclear weapons. However, the number of active centrifuges should not be sufficient to produce the amount of enriched uranium needed for nuclear weapons within a year. One year is the minimum time that the US and other global powers consider as the 'breakout time' for Iran to potentially develop nuclear weapons, allowing them to intervene if such an issue arises. A senior US official stated that the goal of the negotiations from the beginning has been to 'change the use of the Fordow facility so that it cannot be used for uranium enrichment.' Nevertheless, officials told the Associated Press that Fordow is only one of the technical issues in the negotiations, and all options are designed to keep Iran at least a year away from developing nuclear weapons. Fordow is a facility built deep underground near the city of Qom to minimize the possibility of its destruction from potential attacks. The Associated Press report comes in the final days leading up to the March 31 deadline set for Iran, the US, the UK, France, China, Russia, and Germany to reach a political understanding regarding the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. The end of June is a second deadline by which the parties must reach a comprehensive and final agreement on the generalities and details of Iran's nuclear program.