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Iran reaches atomic milestone: Ahmadinejad
Tehran (AFP) Sept 2, 2007 President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday Iran had achieved a key target in its atomic drive by operating more than 3,000 uranium-enriching centrifuges in defiance of world powers. His boast came as Iran answers questions over its nuclear programme to the UN atomic agency under a plan the watchdog's chief Mohamed ElBaradei warned could be a "last chance" for the Islamic republic. "They (world powers) thought that by issuing any resolution Iran would back down," Ahmadinejad told Islamist students, referring to the two previous sanctions resolutions imposed against Tehran by the UN Security Council. "But after each resolution the Iranian nation took another step along the path of nuclear development," he said, according to the website of state broadcasting. "Now it has put into operation more than 3,000 centrifuges and every week we install a new series" of centrifuges, he said. The installation of 3,000 centrifuges has always been earmarked by Iran as the key medium-term goal of its nuclear programme, a milestone it had originally hoped to reach by March. Gas is fed into the centrifuges to produced enriched uranium, which can be used to make nuclear power and, in highly enriched form, the fissile core of a nuclear bomb. However a UN atomic energy agency report obtained by AFP last week said that Iran was still well short of 3,000 centrifuges. It said that as of August 19 Iran had twelve 164-centrifuge cascades operating at its uranium enrichment plant in the central town of Natanz, or a total of 1,968 centrifuges. A further 656 centrifuges were under development, it added. The United States accuses Iran of seeking to manufacture nuclear weapons, but Tehran insists its atomic drive is aimed only at generating electricity for a growing population. Washington has never ruled out taking military action against Tehran, and its tone has sharpened again over the past week with President George W. Bush warning that Iran's nuclear programme could lead to a "nuclear holocaust." But diplomats expect that the timetable Iran agreed with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to answer outstanding questions over its atomic drive will avert further sanctions action for the next few months. The IAEA has welcomed Iran's willingness to answer the questions as "a significant step forward," but the United States has already expressed major reservations over the agreement. The past UN resolutions have called on Iran to suspend enrichment without any conditions, a concession tehran has always steadfastly refused to make, and the IAEA deal makes no mention of Iran halting the process. The foreign ministry spokesman on Sunday repeated warnings that Iran would "reconsider" its cooperation with the UN atomic agency if the Security Council imposed a third set of sanctions. "If there is a new United Nations (Security Council) resolution we will reconsider our cooperation with the IAEA and we will study different options," Mohammad Ali Hosseini told reporters. He did not specify what the options were but top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani has already warned that any further sanctions will render Iran's cooperation with the agency "sterile." ElBaradei, however, warned in an interview to appear on Monday that Iran may be missing its "last chance" if it failed to resolve the nuclear dispute by the end of the year. "By November, or December at the latest, we should be able to state whether the Iranians are keeping their promises. If they don't keep them, Tehran will have passed by an important chance, perhaps the last," ElBaradei told Der Spiegel. However, the IAEA chief also urged international players to "encourage" Iran to cooperate. "Beside sanctions, there must also be encouragement," he said, underlining that "sanctions alone will not bring any durable solution." French President Nicolas Sarkozy has already warned that Iran risks being bombed if the nuclear crisis is not resolved. Ahmadinejad last week brushed off the comments which he said were due to his French counterpart's inexperience. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Analysis: Would Iran retaliate to bombing
Washington (UPI) Aug 31, 2007 Although U.S. airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and military would likely overwhelm their forces, Tehran could still rely on a host of weapons, from covert terror campaigns to long-range missiles, to retaliate against an American attack. |
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