Iran began manufacturing a higher grade of enriched uranium today in defiance of the international community, raising fears that it was heading towards nuclear breakout.
The development, which comes less than 24 hours after Iran officially notified the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), caused international alarm and gave impetus to Western calls for new sanctions against Tehran despite continued opposition from China.
"Today we started to make 20 per cent enriched nuclear fuel... in the presence of IAEA inspectors at Natanz," an unnamed official told Iran's Arabic-language state television station, al Alam.
Ali Shirzadian, a spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, confirmed that "preparatory work" had started at 9.30am (0600 GMT) and that production would formally get under way at about 1pm local timeIran claims the upgrade of its low-enriched uranium from 3.5 per cent to 20 per cent is to supply fuel for a medical research reactor. But Western governments fear Tehran is readying for the production of weapons-grade fuel, noting that it lacks the technology required for the declared medical purposes.
Russia, traditionally resistant to tough actions against Iran, voiced some of its strongest doubts to date about the nature of the nuclear programme.
“Iran claims it is not trying to acquire nuclear weapons,” Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia’s security council, was quoted as saying. “But actions such as starting to enrich low-enriched uranium up to 20 per cent raise doubts in other countries and these doubts are fairly well grounded.”
Today’s development appears to mark the end of the line for the United Nations-backed uranium swap deal by which the international community had hoped to stop Iran from acquiring the fissile material for a nuclear weapon.
Under the proposed deal Iran was required to ship out three quarters of its low-enriched uranium stocks in return for an equivalent amount of 20 per cent enriched uranium in the form of French-made fuel rods to be used in a research reactor to produce medical isotopes.
Iran in effect pronounced the deal dead today when it began the process of making the 20 per cent enriched uranium itself.
But because it lacks the technology to make the fuel rods, Iran cannot use the enriched material for medical purposes, raising suspicions that it is seeking to produce weapons-grade fuel.
Although weapons-grade uranium is 90 per cent enriched, the first stages of the process are the hardest and most time-consuming. The leap from 20 to 90 per cent is more rapidly bridged.
France and Argentina are the only countries capable of making the rods and Argentina has refused to help while France would do so only under the conditions of the UN-backed deal.
Bernard Kouchner, the French Foreign Minister, denounced Iran’s warning as blackmail to force a deal on Tehran’s terms. In the UK, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office called the Iranian decision worrying.
The battle now moves to the UN Security Council, where Western powers hope to lure Russia and China on board for sanctions against the Iranian Central Bank and other financial institutions, as well as companies controlled by the elite Revolutionary Guard.
Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, “thinks this is a matter of weeks, not months", a Pentagon spokesman said“He thinks that we need it and that we can do it in that time,” Geoff Morrell told reporters in Paris, where Mr Gates was meeting with President Sarkozy to discuss a draft resolution on sanctions.
France holds the rotating chair of the Security Council until the end of February and hopes to be able to tabled a vote on sanctions before then.
“In all his meetings [Mr Gates] discussed this sense of urgency,” Mr Morrell added.
Later Mr Gates told Fox News that a new resolution would provide “a legal platform for the EU and individual countries to perhaps take even more far-reaching steps” against Iran.
Washington is sounding out allies to see which would be willing to join a coalition of states imposing even harsher sanctions.
China remains the biggest obstacle to Security Council sanctions and yesterday Mr Kouchner warned publicly that Beijing could vote down a resolution.
Today China renewed its calls for revived talks on the uranium deal, insisting it still offered a way out of the impasse.
“We hope the relevant parties will exchange views on the draft deal on the Tehran research reactor and reach common ground at an early date which will help solve the issue,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
“I hope relevant parties will step up efforts to push forward dialogue on this question."
Source:The times
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