Iran has doubled its production of uranium enrichment centrifuges at one of its underground facilities.
The expansion, reported by the UN International Atomic Energy Agency, comes amidst mounting pressure from the West and increased talk of a preemptive attack by Israel, which believes Iran has a clandestine nuclear weapons program.
The number of enrichment centrifuges at the Fordow plant, which is located deep inside a mountain, has more than doubled, rising to 2,140 from the 1,064 believed to be there in May, according to Reuters.
The IAEA released the report on Thursday, which included details on Iran’s having demolished of buildings and sterilizing the Parchin military complex, according to Reuters. Such efforts would make it harder for international investigators, if and when they are allowed access, to detect the nature of nuclear research efforts there.
Tehran repeatedly says that its nuclear activity is for a domestic energy creating program and peaceful research.
Talks between IAEA representatives and Iranian delegates resumed last week at the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria.