TEHRAN – Behrooz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), has dismissed reports of closure of Iran’s Fordow nuclear site, saying the facility is being used for research on vacuum systems used to enrich uranium.

The Fordow facility is open, and research and development activities on vacuum valves used for enriching uranium is being carried out there, Kamalvandi said on Saturday, according to Tasnim.

“The vacuum valves are utilized in complicated nuclear industries, and American nuclear analyst David Albright has also acknowledged the progress of this technology (in Iran) is his recent report,” he added.

Last year, Kamalvandi said there will be no change to the Fordow nuclear plant as long as the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is preserved.

Part of the JCPOA, the official name for the 2015 nuclear deal, states: “Iran will convert the Fordow facility into a nuclear, physics and technology centre.” 

MH/PA