Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave instructions yesterday for the production of higher-grade nuclear reactor fuel, prompting the US and Germany to threaten carefully targeted new sanctions against Tehran.
The head of Iran’s atomic energy organisation said it would start producing uranium enriched to a level of 20 per cent from tomorrow, state television reported.
“We will hand over an official letter to the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) tomorrow, informing the agency we will start making 20 per cent enriched fuel from Tuesday,” Ali Akbar Salehi told Iran’s Arabic-language state television station, al-Alam.
Iran’s announcement raised the stakes in its dispute with the West, but Mr Ahmadinejad said talks were still possible on a nuclear swap offer by world powers designed to allay fears the Islamic republic is making an atomic bomb. US defence secretary Robert Gates said the response by Iran, a major oil exporter which says its nuclear programme is to make electricity and not bombs, was very disappointing.
“If the international community will stand together and bring pressure to bear on the Iranian government, I believe there is still time for sanctions and pressure to work,” he told a news conference during a visit to Italy.
There was international consensus to avoid “more hardship than is absolutely necessary” on the Iranian people, said Mr Gates.
Germany also raised the sanctions threat, while Britain said Iran’s new plans would breach UN resolutions.
“It may be that the sanctions screw needs to be or can be turned here and there. We need to consider very carefully what impact our options could have,” German defence minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said, adding it should be made clear to Iran that “patience is at an end”.
Iran has already had three sets of sanctions imposed on it. China, which has veto power in the UN Security Council, has made clear it wants big powers to keep talking to Iran rather than impose new measures.
The US, China and other major powers have proposed Iran send most of its low-enriched uranium abroad, in return for 20 per cent nuclear fuel for use in the Tehran reactor producing medical isotopes.
But Mr Ahmadinejad has now told Iran’s atomic energy organisation to start work on producing its own higher-grade nuclear fuel for the medical research reactor.
“We had told them [the West] to come and have a swap, although we could produce the 20 per cent enriched fuel ourselves,” he said in a televised speech at a ceremony marking Iran’s latest laser technology achievements.
“We gave them two to three months’ time for such a deal. They started a new game and now I [ask] Dr Salehi to start work on the production of 20 per cent fuel using centrifuges,” he said.
Mr Salehi was in the audience at the ceremony.
The official IRNA news agency quoted Mr Salehi as saying Mr Ahmadinejad had ordered his organisation to be on standby to start production if talks on the fuel exchange failed, saying preparations were needed. But his comments to al-Alam later yesterday suggested a faster timetable.
State broadcaster IRIB quoted Mr Ahmadinejad as saying that if world powers agreed to swap uranium without conditions, “then we would co-operate as well. We are ready for negotiations.”
Iran enriches uranium to a level of about 3.5 per cent. Refined uranium can have both civilian and military uses, with more than 80 per cent enrichment needed for an atom bomb.
Gareth Evans, co-chair of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, told Reuters he believed Iran had the ability to go to 20 per cent.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt really that they’d be able to manage that. There’d be some doubt I suppose about the time it would take,” Mr Evans said.