"In accordance with the planned schedule, we have completed the last stage of the preparatory phase and sent the results to the Chinese side. After agreeing with them within 2-3 months we shall begin the construction stage of the reactor," Kamalundi said as quoted by the agency. The official went on to say that in the event Tehran abandons the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), it will be able to rebuild the reactor in Arak.
Kamalundi also added that the cancellation of the nuclear deal will give Iran the opportunity to enrich uranium at its factories in Natanz and Fordo.
"Now there are about six thousand centrifuges in Natanz. At the Fordo plant, enrichment is not being carried out, but in the event of Iran's withdrawal from the nuclear deal and the relevant decision of the management, we will again launch the uranium-processing plant at Fordo," he said.
However, he stressed that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had ordered compliance with the terms of the JCPOA.
READ MORE: Iran, Russia Must Ensure More Serious Dialogue Amid US Exit From JCPOA – Rouhani
Iran's possible move to launch its heavy water reactor is connected with the uncertainty over the fate of the nuclear deal. On May 8, US President Donald Trump announced Washington's withdrawal from the JCPOA. The nuclear deal confined Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of the UN's nuclear sanctions as well as restrictive measures introduced by the US and the EU. Trump vowed not only to reimpose sanctions but to introduce new ones.