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Report: Secret Iran agreement allows nuclear upgrade in 2027

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A leading news agency has claimed that was given access to a secret add-on to the nuclear deal agreed a year ago by Iran and the P5+1 powers (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany), which would allow Tehran to significantly upgrade its centrifuges by 2027.

Associated Press (AP) says that the document was leaked by a diplomat who has been working on Iran’s nuclear proliferation for more than a decade and that it was verified by another diplomat. The add-on is apparently the only part of the deal yet to be made public. It stipulates that as of January 2027, the eleventh year after the nuclear deal was agreed, Iran would be permitted to replace 5,060 first-generation centrifuges with up to 3,500 advanced centrifuges. The result would be that Iran’s breakout time to nuclear armament would be reduced from a year to just six months. Supporters of last year’s deal have repeatedly argued that the time-frame of a year would allow ample opportunity to confront any military nuclear development.

However, US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz told AP that the agreement stipulates limits on the amount of low-grade uranium Iran will be allowed to store for fifteen years, restricting Tehran’s ability to develop atomic weaponry in that time.

Nonetheless, the AP report will likely fuel the concerns of Israel and Sunni Arab states in the region, who are heavily critical of the nuclear agreement, which they fear only temporarily halts Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Last July, an accord was agreed between Iran and the P5+1 powers which is intended to see Iran curb its nuclear development over the next ten years in return for easing international sanctions. However, the agreement is vague on what may happen beyond ten years and AP says that the secret add-on sheds light on this.