Iran raises nuclear stakes with 20 per cent uranium enrichment

Published: Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:30:00

Iran has heaped pressure on the west by officially notifying the United Nations nuclear watchdog that it will begin enriching higher-grade nuclear fuel from tomorrow onwards. The country's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Ali-Asghar Soltanieh told the watchdog that Tehran had decided to enrich uranium to 20 per cent. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had already announced the move at a heavily stage-managed televised event that saw him claim Iran was ready to build ten new uranium enrichment plants.

Western observers have speculated that the latter announcement is nothing more than domestic grandstanding, with Iran far from having the resources to carry out such an undertaking. But the decision to enrich uranium at 20 per cent - 70 per cent below weapons-grade level - has come as a shock, especially given last week's claim from President Ahmadinejad that he had "no problem" with a western plan to send the country's uranium stockpile to foreign countries before being returned in rods suitable for use in civilian nuclear reactor. Iran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceable, but the west, especially the US, Britain and France, fears it is attempting to manufacture nuclear weapons.

Last night the UK Foreign Office said Iran enriching uranium at 20 per cent would see it in breach of five separate UN security council resolutions. "We will need to consider our response in partnership with the IAEA and others, including the E3+3 [Britain, France and Germany with the United States, Russia and China]," a statement added.

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