Iran's Rouhani announces another step away from 2015 nuclear deal

While moving another step away from the nuclear deal, President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani announced on November 5 that Iran will start injecting uranium gas into nearly thousand centrifuges at the nuclear facility built inside a mountain. This is also Tehran's latest move away from the peace accord of 2015 with the world powers. US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2016. The Fordo nuclear facility will become an active atomic site as opposed to a research facility as a result of the announcement made by President Rouhani. The nuclear facility was made public only ten years ago.  

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1044 machines to be injected

There are nearly 1044 machines in which the Iranian President has announced uranium to be injected that was operated empty under the nuclear deal until now. The recent announcement has also increased pressure on European nations that are still part of the accord even after the US' withdrawal to offer Iran a method to export crude oil in foreign countries. President Rouhani has also threatened earlier to further pull Iran away from the deal. If the threat is to be taken seriously, it could lead to curtailing international surveillance of its programme. However, Iran's leader has said that Iran will not tolerate any unilateral fulfillment of commitmments form either side.  

“We are aware of their sensitiveness toward the Fordo facility and those centrifuges,” Rouhani said in a live televised address. “At the same time, we cannot tolerate unilateral fulfillment of our commitments and no commitment from their side” 

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Fordo site 

The nuclear site is nearly 25 kilometers northeast of Qom, a Shiite holy city and the site of a former ammunition dump. The site is surrounded by Alborz Mountains. It is also ringed by anti-aircraft guns and other fortifications. The Fordo nuclear site is the size of a football field which is large enough for 3,000 centrifuges. The existence of Fordo was confirmed in 2009 amidst the intense pressure campaign by Western powers over Tehran's nuclear program. While Iran has stressed that it needs the nuclear programs for peaceful purposes, the West has feared that Iran could use the program to build a nuclear weapon. 

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(With AP inputs)