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http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/iran_nuclear/2008/02/24/75154.html
Iran Confirms New Nuclear Centrifuges
Sunday, February 24, 2008
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran said Sunday that it has started using new centrifuges
that can churn out enriched uranium at more than double the rate of the
machines that now form the backbone of the Islamic nation's nuclear program.
The announcement was the first official confirmation by Tehran after
diplomats with the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog reported earlier this month that
Iran was using 10 of the new IR-2 centrifuges.
"We are (now) running a new generation of centrifuges," the official IRNA
news agency quoted Javad Vaidi, deputy of Iran's Supreme National Security
Council, as saying. No futher details were provided.
Meanwhile, a senior Iranian official on Sunday blamed the U.S. for Tehran's
refusal to respond to an International Atomic Energy Agency probe into
whether Iran tried to make nuclear weapons in the past. Ali Ashgar
Soltanieh, Iran's chief delegate to the IAEA, claimed information provided
by Washington and used by the U.N. agency was fake and it came to Tehran too
late for a proper review.
The U.S. dismissed the complaint, saying Iran could have answered concerns
about its nuclear program years ago.
Tehran insists its nuclear program is intended only to produce energy, but
the U.S. and some of its allies suspect it could lead to the development of
weapons.
Iran is already under two sets of U.N. Security Council sanctions for
refusing to suspend uranium enrichment. The five permanent members of the
U.N. Security Council and Germany have agreed on a draft resolution for a
third set of sanctions.
The IAEA highlighted the "new-generation centrifuges" in its latest report
on Iran released Friday, but did not provide details on their operation.
Earlier this month, diplomats accredited to the IAEA told The Associated
Press that 10 IR-2 centrifuges had started processing small quantities of
uranium hexafluoride gas in a process that can produce fuel for a nuclear
reactor or fissile material for a weapon.
Ten centrifuges are too few to produce enriched uranium in the quantities
needed for an industrial-scale energy or weapons program and far below the
3,000 older centrifuges in Iran's underground enrichment plant in the
central town of Natanz.
Friday's IAEA report said many past questions about Iran's nuclear program
had been resolved but highlighted Tehran's continued refusal to halt uranium
enrichment, paving the way for another set of sanctions.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday the report vindicated
Iran and called on the U.S. and its allies to apologize for accusing Tehran
of seeking nuclear weapons. He also warned that Tehran would take
unspecified "decisive reciprocal measures" against any country that imposed
additional sanctions against Iran.
Most of the material shown to Iran by the IAEA in its investigation of the
nation's alleged attempts to make nuclear arms came from Washington, though
some was provided by U.S. allies, diplomats told The Associated Press. The
agency shared it with Tehran only after the nations gave their permission.
But Soltanieh dismissed much of the material as false. In any case, he said,
it came too late _ three years after U.S. intelligence claimed it had
material on a laptop computer smuggled out of Iran indicating that Tehran
had been working on details of nuclear weapons. The data supposedly included
missile trajectories and ideal altitudes for exploding warheads.
"They should have given it to us three years ago," Soltanieh said,
suggesting Tehran would then have had a more substantive response.
Instead, he said, Iran did not get an offer for a review until mid-February.
By that time, he said, the deadline for the conclusion of the IAEA
investigation into Iran's nuclear past had passed and experts were already
working on the agency's report.
"All of a sudden, the Americans notice this thing is going to be closed," he
said, referring to the investigation. Suddenly, he added, "they have
additional and new documents _ these dirty games should be stopped
immediately."
The United States denied being at fault.
"Iran did not need to wait for information to answer" the accusations coming
from many sides that it was trying to make nuclear arms, said Gregory L.
Schulte, the top U.S. delegate to the IAEA.
Soltanieh also acknowledged that his country's uranium enrichment program
was experiencing "ups and downs." It appeared to be the first Iran admitted
its enrichment activities were running into some difficulties.
Iran Confirms New Nuclear Centrifuges
Sunday, February 24, 2008
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran said Sunday that it has started using new centrifuges
that can churn out enriched uranium at more than double the rate of the
machines that now form the backbone of the Islamic nation's nuclear program.
The announcement was the first official confirmation by Tehran after
diplomats with the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog reported earlier this month that
Iran was using 10 of the new IR-2 centrifuges.
"We are (now) running a new generation of centrifuges," the official IRNA
news agency quoted Javad Vaidi, deputy of Iran's Supreme National Security
Council, as saying. No futher details were provided.
Meanwhile, a senior Iranian official on Sunday blamed the U.S. for Tehran's
refusal to respond to an International Atomic Energy Agency probe into
whether Iran tried to make nuclear weapons in the past. Ali Ashgar
Soltanieh, Iran's chief delegate to the IAEA, claimed information provided
by Washington and used by the U.N. agency was fake and it came to Tehran too
late for a proper review.
The U.S. dismissed the complaint, saying Iran could have answered concerns
about its nuclear program years ago.
Tehran insists its nuclear program is intended only to produce energy, but
the U.S. and some of its allies suspect it could lead to the development of
weapons.
Iran is already under two sets of U.N. Security Council sanctions for
refusing to suspend uranium enrichment. The five permanent members of the
U.N. Security Council and Germany have agreed on a draft resolution for a
third set of sanctions.
The IAEA highlighted the "new-generation centrifuges" in its latest report
on Iran released Friday, but did not provide details on their operation.
Earlier this month, diplomats accredited to the IAEA told The Associated
Press that 10 IR-2 centrifuges had started processing small quantities of
uranium hexafluoride gas in a process that can produce fuel for a nuclear
reactor or fissile material for a weapon.
Ten centrifuges are too few to produce enriched uranium in the quantities
needed for an industrial-scale energy or weapons program and far below the
3,000 older centrifuges in Iran's underground enrichment plant in the
central town of Natanz.
Friday's IAEA report said many past questions about Iran's nuclear program
had been resolved but highlighted Tehran's continued refusal to halt uranium
enrichment, paving the way for another set of sanctions.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday the report vindicated
Iran and called on the U.S. and its allies to apologize for accusing Tehran
of seeking nuclear weapons. He also warned that Tehran would take
unspecified "decisive reciprocal measures" against any country that imposed
additional sanctions against Iran.
Most of the material shown to Iran by the IAEA in its investigation of the
nation's alleged attempts to make nuclear arms came from Washington, though
some was provided by U.S. allies, diplomats told The Associated Press. The
agency shared it with Tehran only after the nations gave their permission.
But Soltanieh dismissed much of the material as false. In any case, he said,
it came too late _ three years after U.S. intelligence claimed it had
material on a laptop computer smuggled out of Iran indicating that Tehran
had been working on details of nuclear weapons. The data supposedly included
missile trajectories and ideal altitudes for exploding warheads.
"They should have given it to us three years ago," Soltanieh said,
suggesting Tehran would then have had a more substantive response.
Instead, he said, Iran did not get an offer for a review until mid-February.
By that time, he said, the deadline for the conclusion of the IAEA
investigation into Iran's nuclear past had passed and experts were already
working on the agency's report.
"All of a sudden, the Americans notice this thing is going to be closed," he
said, referring to the investigation. Suddenly, he added, "they have
additional and new documents _ these dirty games should be stopped
immediately."
The United States denied being at fault.
"Iran did not need to wait for information to answer" the accusations coming
from many sides that it was trying to make nuclear arms, said Gregory L.
Schulte, the top U.S. delegate to the IAEA.
Soltanieh also acknowledged that his country's uranium enrichment program
was experiencing "ups and downs." It appeared to be the first Iran admitted
its enrichment activities were running into some difficulties.
