Iran to install 3,000 centrifuges from today after sanctions

[Owais]

Iran to install 3,000 centrifuges from today after sanctions


TEHRAN (updated on: December 24, 2006, 11:51 PST): Iran will on Sunday start putting in place 3,000 uranium enriching centrifuges at a key nuclear plant in an immediate response to a UN sanctions resolution, top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani told Kayhan newspaper.

'Our immediate response to the UN Security Council is that, as of today, we will start the activities at the site of the 3,000 centrifuge machines in Natanz and we will go ahead with full speed,' Larijani told the paper.

Natanz is the plant where Iran carries out uranium enrichment, a process the West fears could be diverted to make a nuclear bomb, a charge vehemently denied by Iran.

"We will accelerate our programme to install the 3,000 centrifuges" in response to the resolution, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the influential head of parliament's security commission, told state radio.

Installing 3,000 centrifuges would be an important step for Iran towards enriching uranium on an industrial scale. So far it has two cascades of 164 centrifuges at its uranium enrichment plant in the central city of Natanz.

Iran has maintained that it wants to have the new centrifuges installed by March and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said the Islamic republic will be able to celebrate its "nuclearisation" around that time.

"Previously we said repeatedly that if the Westerners wanted to exploit the UN Security Council it will not only have no influence but make us more determined to pursue our nuclear goals even faster," said Larijani.

"This action only decreases the credibility of the UN Security Council and has no effect on the Iranian will to pursue peaceful nuclear technology," he added.

After weeks of diplomatic wrangling, the UN Security Council on Saturday adopted a resolution which imposes restrictions on Iran's nuclear industry and ballistic missile programme, its first ever sanctions against Tehran.

 

[Owais]

Israel calls for further action against Iran


JERUSALEM (updated on: December 23, 2006, 23:55 PST): Israel on Saturday welcomed the UN Security Council sanctions over Iran's nuclear programme, but called for 'further, swift and determined action' against the Islamic republic, the foreign ministry said.

"The United Nations Security Council decision expresses the international community's understanding that the world cannot allow Iran to have nuclear weapons," the ministry said in statement.

"This is an initial step but besides the importance of imposing initial sanctions, the international community must call for further, swift and determined action in order to stop the process."

The statement said that Israel assumed that "the initial sanctions will not be sufficient."

In a resolution adopted unanimously, the 15-member council directed all states "to prevent the supply, sale or transfer... of all items, materials, equipment, goods and technology which could contribute to Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs."

The Jewish state and the United States believe Iran's nuclear programme is aimed at developing nuclear weapons, despite Tehran's insisting it is aimed solely for civilian purposes.

Israel is widely believed to be the only state with nuclear weapons in the Middle East, although it has never admitted having the bomb.

Earlier this month Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert appeared to admit that Israel possesses nuclear weapons, breaching the Jewish state's decades-long policy of nuclear ambiguity.

Under this policy, Israel, which is believed to have an arsenal of 200 nuclear weapons, would not carry out any nuclear tests and stay silent on the issue in order to prevent a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

 

[Owais]

US wants more sanctions on Iran


WASHINGTON (updated on: December 23, 2006, 23:47 PST): The United States wants the international community to take more action against Iran, and impose more sanctions than those adopted on Saturday by the UN Security Council, the State Department's number three diplomat said.

"We don't think this resolution is enough in itself. We want the international community to take further action," US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns said after the council slapped the first-ever UN sanctions on Iran, targeting its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in response to its refusal to halt sensitive nuclear fuel work.

"We would like to see more vigorous national and multilateral action against Iran, stronger sanctions -- and not just UN Security Council sanctions but outside the Council -- and we would like to see countries to stop doing business as usual with Iran," Burns stressed in a conference call.

"We are certainly not going to put all of our eggs in the UN basket. We are going to try to convince countries -- especially the European Union countries, Japan -- to consider some of the financial measures that we have undertaken," added Burns.

Burns mentioned "the campaign we have launched to convince some of the international lending institutions and private banks that they should shut down lending to Iran.

"Iran has begun to launder its money through some of these financial institutions without the knowledge of the institutions to arm and finance Hizbullah and Hamas and other terrorist organisations. It is interesting that Credit Suisse, Credit Lyonnais and HSBC have all stopped lending to Iran in the last few months," said Burns