| ||
| ||
| ||
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Uranium find in Iran sparks alarm
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States has condemned Iran after the U.N. nuclear watchdog said it had found traces of arms-grade uranium at a second site in the country. U.S. President George W. Bush warned late Thursday that Iran faced "universal condemnation," if it continued with a nuclear program. Inspectors have been in Iran for six months and Tehran has one month to prove to the United Nations it has no secret atomic weapons program. Bush has already labeled Iran part of an "axis of evil," along with Iraq and North Korea, but Iran insists it is only pursuing its program for peaceful means. But new traces of enriched uranium found in samples at the Kalaye Electric Co. on the southern outskirts of Tehran, could support a U.S. theory that Iran has been secretly purifying uranium. Earlier this year, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors found traces of enriched uranium at a plant at Natanz, some 150 miles (250 kilometers) south of the Iranian capital. The finding prompted concern as the particles had a higher percentage of enriched uranium than is needed for the civilian power program Iran says the plant will serve. The U.S. president says Iran will be on the agenda during talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which start at Camp David on Friday. Iran has become a thorny issue for the two nations because Russia continues its nuclear cooperation with Iran, helping construct a nuclear reactor that both countries insist is for peaceful purposes. But observers have expressed doubt and asked why, if Iran has so much oil, it needs nuclear energy. White House officials say Iran has one last chance to comply with IAEA inspection demands. "They have an October 31st deadline. At that point, if they fail to meet what the IAEA laid out, then we believe it should be taken to the Security Council," said White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan.
A new U.N. resolution could set the stage for diplomatic and economic sanctions against Iran -- and perhaps even more severe action. Even as outside pressure mounts, Iran continues to steadfastly deny it is working on a bomb, instead saying the nuclear program is aimed at producing 6,000 megawatts of electricity. "We have been working very hard to respond to the questions of the IAEA," Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said Wednesday. "It is not part of our security doctrine to have nuclear weapons because we do not believe it would bring security to Iran but would cause much more insecurity. We believe the whole region should be free from nuclear weapons."
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
