Iran has ‘secret atomic warehouse’ to enrich uranium underground – Nuclear weapons warning

The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA), a watchdog used by the organisation, said the rogue Middle Eastern nation is now enriching uranium in an underground warehouse. The revelation was a joint claim made by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the action was taking place at a “secret atomic warehouse”. The report by the IAEA backed up the claim by the two allies, and revealed the site to be the Fordo facility, the Washington Post reports.

Mr Netanyahu alleged materials at the secret site comes from an Iranian military programme the involves work on nuclear weapons.

This has been denied by Iran, who said its programme is nothing short of peaceful.

Iran also claims it invited members of the IAEA to inspect their facility.

The use of the facility for such actions is now another violation of the Iran nuclear deal.

The UN has issued the report into the activity to all member states.

The move comes after Iran announced it has developed two new advanced nuclear centrifuges capable of producing 5kg of enriched uranium per day.

The move further reduces the 12-month timescale experts estimate the Islamic Republic needs to create enough material for a nuclear weapon.

The announcement by Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, comes as the country marks the 40th anniversary of the 1979 US Embassy takeover that started a 444-day hostage crisis.

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The new technology means Iran can now produce ten times the level of enriched uranium from two months ago when it abandoned the nuclear deal despite the effort of the UK and other EU members to keep the accord alive.

Under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) capped the number of centrifuge enrichment machines installed in Iran at roughly 6,000, down from around 19,000 before 2015.

It allowed Iran to refine uranium only with first-generation IR-1 centrifuges in large enough quantities to satisfy energy industry demands but insufficient to create weapons of mass destruction.

Iran has already broken through its stockpile and enrichment limitations more than a year after Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the 2015 accord and started to ramp up trade sanctions again the regime in Tehran.

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The collapse of the nuclear deal coincided with a tense summer of attacks on oil tankers and Saudi oil facilities that the US blamed on Iran.

Tehran denied the allegation, although it did seize oil tankers and shoot down a US military surveillance drone.

The US has increased its military presence across the Mideast, including basing troops in Saudi Arabia for the first time since the aftermath of the September 11 2001 terror attacks.

Both Saudi Arabia and the neighbouring United Arab Emirates are believed to be talking to Tehran through back channels to ease tensions.

Meanwhile, demonstrators gathered in front of the former US Embassy in downtown Tehran as state television aired footage from other cities across the country making the anniversary.

General Abdolrahim Mousavi, the commander of the Iranian army, said: “Thanks to God, today the revolution’s seedlings have evolved into a fruitful and huge tree that its shadow has covered the entire Middle East.”

This year’s commemoration of the embassy seizure comes as Iran’s regional allies in Iraq and Lebanon face widespread protests.

Donald Trump retweeted posts by Saudi-linked media showing the chaos outside the consulate.