Iran's nuclear chief says the country is building a new generation of centrifuges for uranium enrichment but that they need further tests before they are put into operation.



In comments reported by state TV, nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi did not specify how long construction and testing would take.



He said Iran has a total of 19,000 centrifuges.



He did not say how many were operational.



In August, Iran said it had 18,000 centrifuges.



Under the recent Geneva deal, Iran agreed to limit its uranium enrichment to 5 percent and neutralize its stockpile of 20-percent enriched uranium.



Iran has long said it is developing more sophisticated centrifuges that are able to enrich uranium faster.



Enriched uranium can be used to build a weapon if it is enriched to more than 90 percent.



Based on reporting by AP and israelnationalnews.com