Iran has stopped dismantling nuclear centrifuges: senior official
Last week, Iran announced it had begun shutting down inactive
centrifuges at the Natanz and Fordow plants under the terms of a deal
struck with world powers in July that limits its nuclear program in
exchange for easing sanctions.
Iran's hardliners continue to resist and undermine the
nuclear deal, which was forged by moderates they oppose and which they
see as a capitulation to the West.
"The (dismantling) process stopped with a warning," Ali
Shamkhani, Secretary of the National Security Council, was quoted as
saying by the ISNA student news agency.
Only decommissioned centrifuges were being dismantled to
begin with, of which there were about 10,000 at Natanz and Fordow, the
Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran has said.
Shamkhani did not specify what he meant by "warning", but
the head of parliament's nuclear deal commission, Alireza Zakani, told
Mehr news agency that the dismantling had stopped in Fordow because of
the lawmakers' letter to Rouhani.
Zakani, who was not one of the signatories of the letter, did not mention activities at Natanz.
A group of 20 hardline parliamentarians wrote to the
president last week complaining that the deactivation of centrifuges
contradicted the directives of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei has said that the deal should only be implemented
once allegations of past military dimensions (PMD) of Iran's nuclear
program had been settled.
The International Atomic Energy Agency is expected to announce its conclusions on PMD by Dec. 15.
Centrifuges spin at supersonic speed to increase the ratio
of the fissile isotope in uranium. Low-enriched uranium is used to fuel
nuclear power plants, Iran's stated goal, but can also provide material
for bombs if refined much further.
Iran denied Western suspicions it was aiming to build a nuclear bomb.
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