TEHRAN – Ali Akbar Salehi announced on Monday that the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) will start launching the second part of the Arak heavy-water nuclear reactor “within one or two weeks”.

Salehi, the vice president and the AEOI chief, broke the story in a meeting with members of the Parliament Education and Research Committee, the IRIB reported.

The announcement by Salehi falls within Iran’s strategy to partially remove limits on its nuclear activities in retaliation for the revocation of the multilateral nuclear deal by the Trump administration and a failure by the Europeans to honor their obligation to compensate Iran for the sanctions effects.

Salehi also said the stockpile of Iran’s nuclear fuel enriched above 3.5 percent has gone up highly so that every day 5-6 kilograms are added to the stockpile.

“This means that we have reached to the pre-JCPOA era,” stated Salehi, a nuclear physicist.

Under the 2015 nuclear accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran was allowed to just keep 300 kilograms of nuclear fuel enriched to 3.67 percent.

The nuclear chief also said by next month his organization will add 2,500 SWU (separative work unit) to its current 5,060 SWU and “this means that our enrichment capacity will increase by 40 percent.”

PA/PA