Ali Akbar Salehi
Ali Akbar SalehiReuters

A facility in Iran’s Natanz nuclear plant to build advanced centrifuges will be completed in a month, Iran’s nuclear chief said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

“After the Supreme Leader’s order we prepared this center within 48 hours. We hope the facility to be completed in a month,” said Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization.

Salehi on Tuesday notified the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that the Iran Atomic Energy Organization is opening a center for producing new centrifuges for uranium enrichment at Natanz.

The announcement came a day after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he had ordered preparations to increase uranium enrichment capacity if the nuclear agreement with world powers collapsed.

Iran’s announcement follows U.S. President Donald Trump's withdrawal last month from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

The IAEA, which is in charge of making sure Iran is complying with the 2015 deal, has released several reports which showed that Iran was continuing to abide by the deal's key measures.

Nevertheless, on Monday, IAEA chief Yukiya Amano called on Iran to ensure "timely and proactive cooperation" with inspections mandated under the 2015 deal with world powers over its nuclear program.