This archive report was first published on 4 November 2019.
Iran's nuclear program has been a subject of international concern since the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in May 2018. The country has since taken steps to increase its enriched uranium production, citing the need to circumvent US sanctions.
On November 4, 2019, Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran head Ali Akbar Salehi announced that Iran had reached a daily production of five kilogrammes of enriched uranium, a significant increase from the 450 grams produced two months prior.
This increase comes after Iran decided to suspend certain commitments under the nuclear deal in May 2019, in response to the US reimposing sanctions on the country. Iran has since threatened to take further action if the remaining partners to the deal - Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia - fail to help it circumvent the sanctions.
Iran has also developed two new advanced centrifuges, with one undergoing testing, according to Salehi. The country has removed all of its nuclear deal-approved IR-1 centrifuges and is now using only advanced machines, leading to the sharp increase in enriched uranium production.
"We must thank the enemy for bringing about this opportunity to show the might of the Islamic republic of Iran, especially in the nuclear industry," Salehi said in a statement broadcast by state TV.
