The Qom facility
Photo: AP
Iran to build new nuclear facility in Isfahan
Tehran says new nuclear facility will serve civilian purposes; site to be operational in three years
Iran plans to rebuild the nuclear facility in Isfahan, Avaz Heydarpour, a member of the Iranian parliament's National Security Committee said on Thursday.
The new facility will be built in the city of Shahreza and will serve civilian purposes, the MP said.
Speaking with reporters in Tehran, Heydarpour said that the facility is likely to become operational within three years and is meant to meet Iran's needs in the fields of medicine and agriculture.
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"The experts have submitted their reports and we are currently in the process of buying the land," he said.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that Washington is concerned that Iran will soon be able to enrich uranium at its underground facility in Qom.
According to the report, Iran is only weeks away from producing 20% enriched uranium. Uranium of that grade can be used to fuel power plants and reactors, and may be further processed into atomic weapons material.
Karim Sadjadpour, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, said that "Senior advisers to President Obama privately express concern that Israel might see Iran’s commencement of the Fordo facility as a justification for a military strike."
Both the US and Israel maintain that military action against Iran remains a viable option to stop it from acquiring a nuclear bomb.
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