Iran has told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it intends to install advanced centrifuges at a nuclear plant in Natanz.

A Foreign Commonwealth Office spokesman said: “Iran’s intention to install more advanced centrifuges (type IR-2M) at its Fuel Enrichment Plant in Natanz is a cause for deep concern.

“Installation of these centrifuges would be a further breach of UN Security Council and IAEA Board resolutions. We urge Iran to respect these resolutions and cooperate fully with the IAEA.”

Whitehouse spokesman, Jay Carney, said that the information is not a surprise but “a provocative step”.

This news follows veiled threats from Iran after an Israeli airstrike damaged a military research centre near Damascus on Wednesday.

Tehran’s deputy foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, commented on public television: “The Israel regime’s strike on Syria will have serious consequences for Tel Aviv.”