Rahmani-Fazli, deputy to Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said
Iran was moving rapidly to complete the installation of 3,000 centrifuges at
the uranium enrichment facility at Natanz. The official said more than 50
percent of the gas centrifuges were operating.
On Saturday, Iran reported the start of construction of its first
indigenous nuclear reactor, Middle East Newsline reported. Iranian Atomic Energy Organization deputy
director Mohammed Saeedi said the planned facility would have a capacity of
360 megawatts.
The operation of 3,000 centrifuges would enable Iran to produce uranium
sufficient for one nuclear warhead per year. Iran, despite two sets of
United Nations Security Council sanctions, said it plans to install more
than 50,000 centrifuges for an industrial nuclear fuel program.
"We have been able to control and manage sanctions," Rahmani-Fazli said
on May 17.
"In the next decade Iran will be one of the most talked-about countries
in the world regarding domestic nuclear energy," Saeedi said.
Iran has been producing 290 tons of uranium hexafluoride per year,
Saeedi said. Uranium hexafluoride, or UF6, is the feeder gas for centrifuges
to produce enriched uranium.
The United States has sought to draft an additional set of sanctions at
the Security Council. The International Atomic Energy Agency was scheduled
to submit another report on Iran's nuclear program this week as the council
deadline for Teheran to end uranium enrichment expires on May 23.
"If we're unable to make progress with the Iranians, we want to work
together to implement new sanctions through the United Nations," President
George Bush said on May 17.
