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Iran expands uranium programme
08/04/2008 18:09 - (SA)
Ali Akbar Dareini
Tehran - Iran has begun installing 6 000 new centrifuges at its uranium enrichment plant in Natanz, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday, a move Western nations condemned as defiance of the UN's demands for Iran to halt enrichment.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner called the move "dangerous" and said UN sanctions against Iran should be increased.
More sanctions loom
"If that continues we must reinforce sanctions but we also must continue dialogue," Kouchner told a news conference in Paris.
"I fear that we will have to continue on the road toward sanctions if we do not encounter responses from the Iranians."
Iran already has about 3 000 centrifuges operating at its underground nuclear facility in Natanz, and the UN has passed three sets of sanctions against Iran for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, a process that can produce either fuel for a reactor or the material for a nuclear weapon.
'Only for energy'
Tehran insisted its nuclear program was focused on the peaceful production of energy, not the development of weapons as claimed by the US and many of its allies.
Gregory Schulte, the US representative to the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, said Tuesday's announcement by Iran "reflects the Iranian leadership's continuing violation of international obligations and refusal to address international concerns."
Britain's Foreign Office said Iran has "chosen to ignore the will of the international community," accusing Tehran of "making no effort to restore international confidence in its intentions."
Iran says it plans to move toward large-scale uranium enrichment that ultimately will involve 54 000 centrifuges.
- AP
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