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Why Iran's Nuclear Enrichment Upgrade May Be a "Game Changer"
(Christian Science Monitor) Peter Grier - Iran on Jan. 23 notified the International Atomic Energy Agency that it plans to introduce 3,000 upgraded centrifuges at its Natanz facility. "Iran's installation of more efficient centrifuges at Natanz could be a game changer," said Mark Fitzpatrick, director of the non-proliferation and disarmament program at the Institute for Science and International Security, on Thursday. Right now Iran uses IR-1 centrifuges based on parts and designs provided by Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan - technology from the 1970s. Second-generation IR-2 centrifuges, thought to be based on a later European design, are capable of enriching uranium much faster. The U.S. is concerned that better centrifuges could shorten Iran's break-out time to a nuclear weapon. Currently, Iran would require two to four months to produce one weapon's worth of highly enriched uranium, according to an Institute for Science and International Security report last fall. But IR-2 centrifuges work three to four times faster than Iran's current models, which could shave weeks off their break-out time.