Iran expands bomb-building capacity, says UN agency
Iran is ready to sharply expand its uranium enrichment in an underground plant after installing all the centrifuges the site is capable of holding, according to a new report by the UN's nuclear watchdog.
A centrifuge Photo: EPA
By Alex Spillius, Diplomatic Correspondent
7:04PM GMT 16 Nov 2012
In a development likely to fuel Western alarm over Tehran’s nuclear aims, the International Atomic Energy Agency said a full complement of nearly 2,800 centrifuges had been installed at Fordow, which is buried deep inside a mountain near the ancient city of Qom.
Tehran could soon double to 1,400 the number of centrifuges capable of producing 20 per cent enriched uranium, which is close to weapons-grade.
The report said that the Islamist regime has produced about 233 kg of higher-grade enriched uranium at Fordow since 2010, just short of the amount needed for the core of a nuclear warhead.
By installing all the centrifuges it can at Fordow, the Iranians have increased their ability to race towards the finishing line of a building nuclear weapon.
It has furthermore produced 43 kg of that 20 per cent enriched uranium since August.
But Tehran also appears not to have decided to make that final dash for a bomb, and appears intent on sending mixed signals about its intentions.
It has converted 96 kg of the 233 kg to nuclear fuel to be used for a medical research reactor, adding considerably to the time it would take to build a bomb.
Israel, while reserving the right to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, has therefore made it clear that a raid is not imminent, and Barack Obama, fresh from his re-election, this week said he still believed there was still a “window of time” to find a peaceful resolution to the long standoff with Iran.
The IAEA report highlighted other challenges however, saying that because of “activities” spotted at a military base at Parchin, the agency’s “ability to conduct effective verification” had been “seriously undermined”.
Tehran has always insisted that its nuclear programme has only peaceful purposes, though a landmark IAEA report a year ago said elements of it had undeniably “military dimensions”, including activities at Parchin.
