Iran confirms nuclear progress

[al-fateh]

Iran confirms nuclear progress
The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization announced on Tuesday that Iran has successfully produced the enriched uranium needed for its nuclear power plants, BBC reported.

"I am proud to announce that we have started enriching uranium to the 3.5 percent level," Gholamreza Aghazadeh said in a televised speech, adding that the enrichment plant in Natanz, south of Tehran, had started working on Monday.

Uranium enriched to a low level can be used as fuel to generate electricity. Fuel for use in Iran’s only nuclear plant now under construction must be enriched to 3.5 percent. Uranium must be enriched to far higher levels for bomb-making.

Aghazadeh also said that Tehran had produced 110 tons of uranium gas needed to feed the enrichment process, twice the amount it produced last year.

Tuesday’s announcement follows comments by other top Iranian officials, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, that Tehran will announce “very good news” on its nuclear program.

Earlier Tuesday, Iran’s former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani told Kuwait’s Kuna news agency that Iran had produced enriched uranium from a cascade of 164 centrifuges for the first time, achieving “industrial output“.

Correspondents say that UN nuclear inspectors who are currently visiting Iran’s nuclear facilities have yet to confirm the news.

Commenting on the Iranian announcement, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said that Iran was "moving in the wrong direction" with its nuclear program.

"If the regime continues to move in the direction that it is currently, then we will be talking about the way forward with the other members of the Security Council and Germany about how to address this going forward," McClellan said.

International pressure against Iran intensified after it resumed small-scale uranium enrichment and ended snap UN inspections of its nuclear facilities following a decision by the International Atomic Energy Agency to send its nuclear dossier to the UN Security Council.

Earlier this month, the Security Council unanimously approved a non-binding statement giving Iran 30 days to halt uranium enrichment activities.

EU sanctions

The European Union moved closer to imposing sanctions against Iran, including an arms embargo and visa bans on top Iranian officials, The Guardian Unlimited reported.

EU Foreign Policy chief, Javier Solana, recommended the sanctions at a special meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

Other proposed sanctions include a ban on the transfer of civilian nuclear technology to Iran, and the suspension of negotiations on a free trade agreement with Tehran.

The European Union would also fund a propaganda campaign against the Islamic republic.

The German Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said the EU would only adopt restrictions of its own against Iran if there was deadlock in the Council, where both Russia and China are rejecting sanctions.

However, no decision will be taken by the EU until the expiry of the 30-day deadline set by the Council.

Any move to agree European measures against Iran such as the withdrawal of export credits is not expected to be successful, even if Tehran didn’t comply with the UN demands, since many EU states have big stakes in Iran's oil and steel sector.

Solana said the European Union rejects the use of military force against Iran but said that the Europe must be ready for a punitive action against Tehran if it didn’t comply with the UN demands.

"Any military action is definitely out of the question for us," he told reporters.

Solana’s comments came after a report by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker magazine stated that the Bush Administration was readying plans for a possible air strike on Iran's nuclear sites.

The U.S. didn’t confirm or deny the New Yorker report, which was slammed by Iran as part of a “U.S. psychological war”.

Commenting on the report, White House spokesman Scott McClellan, said on Monday that the Pentagon was conducting "normal military contingency planning" to deal with Tehran's nuclear program.

Top British defense officials warned that a military strike against Iran would lead to a retribution against UK soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said on Monday that a military strike against Tehran would be "completely nuts".

Admiral Sir Alan West said before retiring as the head of the Royal Navy any attack on Iran could have "horrendous consequences" and "must be avoided".

The Islamic Republic denies Western accusations that it is seeking weapons of mass destruction, insisting that it has a legitimate right to work on a peaceful nuclear program as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed yesterday that his country “will not step back one iota” from its nuclear rights.