Iran says it has more than 5,000 active centrifuges (Roundup)

Nov 26, 2008, 15:05 GMT

Tehran - Chief of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation Gholam- Reza Aqazadeh announced on Wednesday that more than 5,000 centrifuges are now actively running at the country's uranium enrichment plant, the official IRNA news agency reported.

'Currently we have more than 5,000 centrifuges operating,' the agency quoted Aqazadeh as telling reporters, signalling further expansion of the Islamic state's controversial nuclear activities.

Low-level enriched uranium is used to produce nuclear fuel but enrichment at higher levels makes it suitable for use in nuclear weapons.

The United States and its allies have demanded a suspension of Iran's enrichment activities, and the UN Security Council has passed three sanction resolutions also calling for a halt, which Tehran has ignored, insisting its nuclear programme is peaceful aimed at generating electricity.

'Suspension has no meaning at all in Iran's culture and no such a thing exists,' Aqazadeh was quoted as saying.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had also said in July that of 6,000 new centrifuges, 5,000 have become operational and the then deputy foreign minister, Alireza Sheikh-Attar, who is now Iran's ambassador to Berlin, said later in August that Tehran is planning to install 54,000 centrifuges.

The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has so far confirmed that about 3,000 to 3,500 centrifuges were operational at the Natanz plant. Iranian claims of the number of centrifuges often do not match IAEA reports.

In his latest report on Iran to member states, IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said that 'regrettably, as a result of the lack of cooperation by Iran in connection with the alleged studies and other associated key remaining issues of serious concern, the Agency has not been able to make substantive progress on these issues.'

'We have had and will have our normal cooperation with the IAEA but what Mr ElBaradei indicated in his report goes back to terms within the (IAEA) Additional Protocol,' Aqazadeh told Khabar news network.

Iran's cooperation with the IAEA in the last three years has solely been within the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and not the IAEA Additional Protocol, and therefore Tehran does not allow the IAEA to have any inspections without prior notice or venues outside NPT obligations.

'For implementing the Additional Protocol, the necessary political conditions should be provided accordingly. But currently, with the Iranian nuclear dossier at the UN Security Council, these conditions are not given,' said Aqazadeh, who is also vice-president.

Tehran demands the return of its nuclear dossier from the UN Security Council to the IAEA in Vienna and be dealt with as a normal case.

The IAEA has received documents from a number of member states indicating that past Iranian projects on missiles, high explosives and uranium conversion could have been related to nuclear weapons work.

Tehran however says that Iran is not in charge of following allegations made by other member states, especially as no documented proof has yet been presented.

Iran further says that numerous inspections by the IAEA have proved Iran's claim that its nuclear projects were solely for peaceful and civil purposes and Tehran, as NPT signatory, should therefore be allowed to follow a civil nuclear programme, including uranium enrichment.