Sun Dec 14, 2014 6:17
AEOI Chief: Iran in Possession of Most Advanced Model of Centrifuges
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13930923001252

TEHRAN (FNA)- Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali
Akbar Salehi said the country has the most advanced centrifuges to enrich
uranium for peaceful purposes, but it has avoided injecting UF6 gas into
them as a confidence-building measure for the talks with the world powers.

"We possess the IR4, IR6 and IR8 centrifuges and the IR8 is the latest
generation of centrifuges whose enrichment power is equal to 24 Separative
Work Units (SWU)," Salehi said in an interview with the Iran-based
Arab-language al-Alam news channel on Sunday.

"We haven’t injected gas into these centrifuges on a voluntary basis and as
long as the negotiations continue, we do not intend to inject gas into IR8,"
he added.

Salehi underscored that Iran's decision to refrain from injecting UF6 gas
into the powerful IR8 centrifuges is a confidence-building measure to show
its good will to the world powers during the nuclear talks.

In similar remarks on Tuesday, the AEOI chief had underlined Tehran's
commitment to the contents of the Geneva agreement, and said the country
would not inject UF6 gas into its newly-developed IR8 centrifuges any sooner
than the end of its nuclear talks with the world powers.

"At present, we have the second generation of centrifuges and 1,000 of them
have been installed and just a pilot 164-centrifuge cascade is in
operation," Salehi told reporters in Tehran.

The pilot cascade of centrifuges that Salehi pointed to had been installed
and started operation before the Geneva interim deal between Iran and the
six world powers was struck.

Yet, he reminded that Iran had also developed IR4, IR6 and IR8 generations
of more efficient centrifuges, and said, "But we haven’t injected gas into
IR8 centrifuges and we have voluntarily decided not to inject gas into these
centrifuges; of course the mechanical tests are being carried out."

"And we do not intend to inject active UF6 gas into these centrifuges as
long as the negotiations are underway," Salehi underlined.

Asked about the proposals made to Iran by the opposite parties in the talks
for producing nuclear fuel outside the country, he said, "Had we wanted to
produce fuel in another country, we would have done that already; but the
point is that we have decided to carry out the entire process of fuel
production cycle on the Islamic Republic's soil and do it in Iran."