Iran may be preparing to expand its nuclear program at an underground plant near the city of Qom, a diplomat has told the BBC, just days ahead of a visit by United Nations nuclear inspectors.
Iran appears to be poised to install thousands of new centrifuges at the underground site in the northern city, a Vienna-based diplomat told the British broadcaster late Saturday.
The BBC said the centrifuges could speed up the production of enriched uranium, which can be used both for generating nuclear power and to manufacture atomic weapons.
Iran appears to be poised to install thousands of new centrifuges at the underground site in the northern city, a Vienna-based diplomat told the British broadcaster late Saturday.
The BBC said the centrifuges could speed up the production of enriched uranium, which can be used both for generating nuclear power and to manufacture atomic weapons.
Iran said on Wednesday it had installed another 3,000 centrifuges to increase its uranium enrichment abilities, but it was unclear Sunday whether these were the same as those mentioned by the diplomat.
Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, are due to visit Tehran this week.
Iran insists that its nuclear drive is peaceful, but Western countries suspect the Islamic Republic of trying to develop an atomic bomb.
Iran has been slapped with four sets of U.N. sanctions and a raft of unilateral U.S. and European Union measures over its nuclear drive.
There has been feverish speculation in recent weeks that Israel is preparing to mount a pre-emptive strike on the country’s nuclear program, though Israel has denied reaching such a decision.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague warned over the weekend that Iran’s nuclear ambitions could spark an atomic arms race in the Middle East
Israel will make its own decision
Meanwhile Israel said later on Saturday that it will ultimately decree on an Iranian strike on its own, as a senior U.S. official arrived for talks on the Islamic Republic.
“Israel is the central guarantor of its own security; this is our role as army, the State of Israel should defend itself,” military chief of staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz told state-owned Channel One TV.
“We must follow the developments in Iran and its nuclear project, but in a very broad manner, taking into account what the world is doing, what Iran decided, what we will do or not do,” he said.
Tensions between Iran and Israel have been simmering with Iranian warships entering the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal in a show of “might”, a move Israel said it would closely monitor.
On Wednesday, Iran said it had installed another 3,000 centrifuges to increase its uranium enrichment abilities and was stepping up exploration and processing of uranium yellowcake.
And Israel blamed a recent wave of attacks targeting Israeli diplomats on agents of Tehran, allegations Iran denies.
U.S. National Security Advisor Tom Donilon will on Sunday begin talks with Israeli officials on a range of issues including Iran, two weeks ahead of a Washington visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for White House talks with U.S. President Barak Obama on the same topic.
A recent article in the Washington Post said that U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta thinks Israel may strike Iran’s nuclear installations in the coming months.
According to Gantz, whose interview was conducted prior to the Saturday developments, Iran was not only an “Israeli problem”, but also “a world and regional problem”.
On Saturday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak called on the world to tighten sanctions on Iran before the country enters a “zone of immunity” against a physical attack to stop its nuclear program.
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