TEHRAN, Iran, July 6
Trend :
A larger "industrial shed" will be built in the Natanz site, Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) spokesman said.
"Necessary decisions for rebuilding the damaged part in the Martyr Ahmadi Roshan known as Natanz Nuclear site have been adopted and it is envisioned to build a bigger 'industrial shed' with modern equipment in this complex," Behrouz Kamalvandi said, Trend reports citing the AEOI's official website.
Kamalvandi went on to say that more capacities than before will be created in the Natanz nuclear facility.
The incident, he said, had "caused significant damage, but there were no casualties".
He said more centrifuge machines were supposed to be produced at the damaged shed, which was inaugurated following Washington’s withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and two days after Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei ordered the AEOI to make preparations for the enrichment of uranium up to a level of 190,000 SWU without delay.
Kamalvandi added that the facility did not operate at full capacity due to the JCPOA limitations, but this shed was to undergo further development and this project was ongoing until the day when the incident happened.
He further noted that the damaged shed housed measuring equipment and precision tools, part of which was destroyed in the incident and another part was damaged.
"As announced by the secretariat of [Iran's] Supreme National Security Council, the country's security authorities have found out the cause of the incident, but they do not want to make it public for the time being due to security-related considerations," he said.
A fire broke out early morning on July 2 at a building above Iran's underground Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, though officials said it did not affect its centrifuge operation or cause any release of radiation.
Natanz, about 250km (150 miles) south of the capital Tehran, is Iran's largest uranium enrichment facility.
According to the nuclear deal of 2015, Iran agreed only to produce low-enriched uranium, which has a 3-4% concentration of U-235 and can be used to produce fuel for nuclear power plants. Weapons-grade uranium is 90% enriched or more.