Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effect that Iran's possession of advanced IR-8 centrifuge would have on its nuclear break out ability.

Use of IR-8 centrifuges for enrichment could significantly shorten breakout times. However, as reported in the 29 May report from the IAEA DG Iran currently has only one prototype IR-8 machine in place, without connections, in the research and development area at the Natanz nuclear facility. Ensuring that Iran’s use of advanced centrifuges is adequately constrained remains a key element of the E3+3 negotiations currently underway.