Iran plans big nuclear enrichment increase
Source: Agencies |
June 9, 2011, Thursday
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Print Edition
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IRAN will soon install more advanced centrifuges at its new uranium enrichment site, the country's nuclear chief said yesterday, underscoring Tehran's continued defiance in the face of international sanctions imposed over its controversial nuclear program.
Vice President Fereidoun Abbasi also announced that Iran plans to triple its output of the higher enriched uranium in 2011 and move the entire program to a new, secretly-built facility.
The uranium enrichment lies at the heart of Iran's dispute with the West, which is concerned that the activity masks efforts to make nuclear weapons - a charge Tehran denies, insisting the work is peaceful and only meant to generate electricity.
Abbasi, who also heads Iran's nuclear agency, said that Tehran would set up the more efficient centrifuges, suitable for higher-grade uranium enrichment, at the Fordo site near the holy city of Qom in central Iran.
Built next to a military complex to protect it in case of an attack, Fordo was long kept secret and was only acknowledged by Iran after it was identified by Western intelligence agencies in September 2009.
At the time, the labs were still under construction inside former ammunition depots carved into a mountainside. The area is heavily protected by the powerful Revolutionary Guard.
Despite four rounds of UN sanctions over its refusal to halt the enrichment, Iran has threatened to expand the program tenfold and produce new centrifuges capable of enriching uranium faster than the old ones.
This has added to the international concerns because these centrifuges would allow Tehran to accelerate the pace of its program and potentially enable Iran to amass more nuclear material in a shorter time that could be turned into the fissile core of missiles, should it choose to do so.
Centrifuges are machines that are used to enrich uranium. Low-enriched uranium - at around 3.5 percent - can be used to fuel a reactor to generate electricity, which Iran says is the intention of its program. But if uranium is further enriched to around 90 percent purity, it can be used to develop a nuclear warhead.
Abbasi also added that Iran would triple the output of its higher enrichment program this year and would move the entire program to Fordo from Natanz. The UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, would monitor the transfer, he said.
Vice President Fereidoun Abbasi also announced that Iran plans to triple its output of the higher enriched uranium in 2011 and move the entire program to a new, secretly-built facility.
The uranium enrichment lies at the heart of Iran's dispute with the West, which is concerned that the activity masks efforts to make nuclear weapons - a charge Tehran denies, insisting the work is peaceful and only meant to generate electricity.
Abbasi, who also heads Iran's nuclear agency, said that Tehran would set up the more efficient centrifuges, suitable for higher-grade uranium enrichment, at the Fordo site near the holy city of Qom in central Iran.
Built next to a military complex to protect it in case of an attack, Fordo was long kept secret and was only acknowledged by Iran after it was identified by Western intelligence agencies in September 2009.
At the time, the labs were still under construction inside former ammunition depots carved into a mountainside. The area is heavily protected by the powerful Revolutionary Guard.
Despite four rounds of UN sanctions over its refusal to halt the enrichment, Iran has threatened to expand the program tenfold and produce new centrifuges capable of enriching uranium faster than the old ones.
This has added to the international concerns because these centrifuges would allow Tehran to accelerate the pace of its program and potentially enable Iran to amass more nuclear material in a shorter time that could be turned into the fissile core of missiles, should it choose to do so.
Centrifuges are machines that are used to enrich uranium. Low-enriched uranium - at around 3.5 percent - can be used to fuel a reactor to generate electricity, which Iran says is the intention of its program. But if uranium is further enriched to around 90 percent purity, it can be used to develop a nuclear warhead.
Abbasi also added that Iran would triple the output of its higher enrichment program this year and would move the entire program to Fordo from Natanz. The UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, would monitor the transfer, he said.
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