1.

Middle East & Africa

Iran

IRAN SAYS IT HAS MASTERED URANIUM ENRICHMENT
By Roula Khalaf (London) and Gareth Smyth (Tehran)

Financial Times (UK)
April 11, 2006

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/56c9d556-c981-11da-94ca-0000779e2340.html

Iran said on Tuesday it had taken a major step towards mastering the nuclear technology, in defiance of Western attempts to curb its nuclear ambitions.

President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad announced on national television that Iran had joined "the nuclear countries of the world," describing this as a "historical achievement."

He said Tehran would go on to produce industrial fuel but insisted the purpose remained energy production, not nuclear weapons.

Earlier, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former Iranian president and head of the powerful Expediency Council, told the Kuwait news agency that Tehran had enriched uranium at low levels from a cascade of 164 centrifuges, a move experts said marked a new breakthrough.

Tuesday's announcements came two weeks after the U.N. Security Council called on Tehran to halt its uranium enrichment work, in the hope of preventing it from mastering the technology that could be adapted to make nuclear weapons.

Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is due in Tehran on Wednesday and will report on Iranian compliance to the Security Council at the end of the month. The Iranian statements coincide with a raging debate in Washington over recent reports that the U.S. is considering military strikes against Iranian nuclear installations. Reacting to the reports from Tehran, the White House last night warned that Iran was moving in the "wrong direction."

Gholam-Reza Aghazadeh, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, said Iran intended to have 3,000 centrifuges in use by next March. He said Iran was "completing" a process "for producing nuclear fuel for power plants using low-enriched uranium at between 3.5 and 5 per cent. "This enrichment level is used for the production of fuel for nuclear reactors while much higher levels of enrichment are needed for atomic weapons.

Nuclear experts cautioned that although Iran may have taken a major step forward, it could still be years away from acquiring the capability to produce the industrial scale and highly enriched uranium needed for nuclear bombs.

Mark Fitzpatrick, nuclear non-proliferation expert at London's International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the cascade -- the arrangement of centrifuges -- would have to run for a sustained period of time before it could be said to work properly. But he said Iran was creating a new "reality" that the world community would have to deal with.

Although Iran's announcement will alarm Western governments, it could also facilitate a diplomatic climbdown. Iran could announce that having achieved this level of expertise it is now ready to suspend further enrichment.

2.

World news

Middle East & North Africa

IRAN: WE'LL SOON JOIN THE WORLD'S NUCLEAR 'CLUB'

** U.S. condemns advances; Rumsfeld won't speculate on possible U.S. attack **

Associated Press
April 11, 2006

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12267675/

KUWAIT -- Iran has successfully enriched uranium for the first time, a landmark in its quest to develop nuclear fuel, hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday. Although the president insisted his country does not aim to develop nuclear weapons, the statements seemed certain to ratchet up tensions with the West, which is trying to persuade Tehran to halt its nuclear program.

Speaking in a nationally televised speech, Ahmadinejad called on the West “not to cause an everlasting hatred in the hearts of Iranians” by trying to force Iran to abandon uranium enrichment.

Meanwhile, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld refused to engage in “fantasy land” speculation about a possible U.S. attack on Iran, though he said the Bush administration is concerned about Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

“The United States of America is on a diplomatic track,” Rumsfeld said.

Rumsfeld declined to comment on Iran’s claim that it has has successfully enriched uranium for the first time.

“I’d rather wait and see what our experts say about it,” the defense secretary told reporters.

WHITE HOUSE ASSAILS 'WRONG DIRECTION'

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Tehran was “moving in the wrong direction” and if it persists, the United States will discuss possible next steps with the U.N. Security Council.

The Security Council has demanded that Iran stop all uranium enrichment activity by April 28. Iran has rejected the demand, saying it has a right to develop the process. The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, is due in Iran this week for talks to try to resolve the standoff.

“At this historic moment, with the blessings of God Almighty and the efforts made by our scientists, I declare here that the laboratory-scale nuclear fuel cycle has been completed and young scientists produced enriched uranium needed to the degree for nuclear power plants Sunday,” Ahmadinejad said.

“I formally declare that Iran has joined the club of nuclear countries,” he told an audience that included top military commanders and clerics in the northwestern holy city of Mashhad. The crowd broke into cheers of “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great.” Some stood and thrust their fists in the air.

WEST MUST RESPECT 'IRAN'S RIGHT'

Ahmadinejad said the West “has to respect Iran’s right for nuclear energy.”

Iran “relies on the sublime beliefs that lie within the Iranian and Islamic culture. Our nation does not get its strength from nuclear arsenals,” he said.

He said Iran wanted to operate its nuclear program under supervision by the International Atomic Energy Agency and within its rights and the regulations the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The announcement does not mean Iran is immediately capable of producing enough fuel to run a reactor or develop the material needed for a nuclear warhead. Uranium enrichment can produce either, but it must be carried out on a much larger scale, using thousands of centrifuges.

Iran succeeded in enriching uranium to a level needed for fuel on a research scale -- using 164 centrifuges, officials said. But the breakthrough underlined how difficult it will be for the West to convince Iran to give up enrichment.

Ahmadinejad made the announcement in a richly appointed hall in one of Iran’s holiest cities in a ceremony clearly aimed at proclaiming to the Iranian public their country’s nuclear success.

EXPANDING CAPACITY

Speaking before the president, Iran’s nuclear chief -- Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh -- told the audience that Iran has produced 110 tons of uranium gas, the feedstock that is pumped into centrifuges for enrichment.

The amount is nearly twice the 60 tons of uranium hexaflouride, or UF-6, gas that Iran said last year that it had produced. In theory, it would be enough to produce about 10 nuclear warheads.

Aghazadeh said Iran plans to expand its enrichment program to be able to use 3,000 centrifuges by the end of the year.

The United States and some in Europe accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, an accusation Tehran denies, saying it intends only to generate electricity.

The IAEA is due to report to the U.N. Security Council on April 28 whether Iran has met its demand for a full halt to uranium enrichment. If Tehran has not complied, the council will consider the next step. The U.S. and Europe are pressing for sanctions against Iran, a step Russia and China have so far opposed.

WHITE HOUSE: CLOCK IS TICKING

McClellan told reporters traveling on Air Force One with President Bush that Iran’s enrichment claims “only further isolate” Tehran and underscore why the international community must continue to raise concerns about its suspected ambition to develop nuclear weapons.

McClellan noted the Security Council clock now running on Iran.

“This is a regime that needs to be building confidence with the international community,” he said. “Instead, they’re moving in the wrong direction.”

The reported breakthrough came only two months after Iran resumed research on enrichment at its facility in the central town of Natanz in February. The resumption of work there prompted ElBaradei’s IAEA to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council -- escalating the standoff over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

In London, a spokesman for the British Foreign Office recalled that Iran was under Security Council orders to “resume full and sustained suspension of all its enrichment.”

“The latest Iranian statement is not particularly helpful,” the spokesman said, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with government policy.

In Vienna, officials of the IAEA, whose inspectors are now in Iran, declined to comment on the announcement. But a diplomat familiar with Tehran’s enrichment program said it appeared to be accurate. He demanded anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss information restricted to the agency.

COMPLEX PROCESS

The enrichment process is one of the most difficult steps in developing a nuclear program. It requires a complicated plumbing network of pipes connecting centrifuges that can operate flawless for months or years.

The process aims to produce a gas high with an increased percentage of uranium-235, the isotope needed for nuclear fission, which is much rarer than the more prevalent isotope uranium 238.

A gas made from raw uranium is pumped into a centrifuge, which spins, causing a small portion of the heavier uranium-238 to drop away. The gas then proceeds to the next centrifuge, where the process is repeated. Then it goes to another, and another, and another, in a chain that can involve thousands of centrifuges and gradually increases the proportion of uranium-235.

The enrichment process can take years to produce a gas rich enough in uranium-235 that it can be used to power a nuclear reactor or produce a bomb. Enrichment typically starts out with a gas that is 0.7 percent uranium-235, and boosts it to either 4 percent for power generation or to 90 percent for weaponry.

3.

Middle East & Africa

Iran

BUSH REJECTS REPORTS OF U.S. PLANS TO ATTACK IRAN
By Edward Alden and Demetri Sevastopulo

Financial Times (UK)
April 10, 2006

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/27039b0c-c8b6-11da-b642-0000779e2340.html

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush on Monday ruled out any bilateral negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program but dismissed as “wild speculation” reports that the U.S. was preparing for military action, including a nuclear strike, if diplomatic efforts failed.

The president also insisted he had been right in his controversial State of the Union speech four years ago when he dubbed Iran part of an “axis of evil.”

The remarks in a question-and-answer session with students in Washington underscored the administration’s attempts to pursue a two-track policy of diplomatic pressure on Iran coupled with threats of force if those efforts failed.

Mr. Bush’s rejection of any bilateral negotiations will be a disappointment to the EU3 countries of France, Germany, and the UK, which have been urging the U.S. to engage in direct talks with Tehran. The Iranian government has also sent out signals that it desires such direct negotiations with Washington.

Mr. Bush said any effort to engage the Iranians directly on the nuclear issue would weaken efforts to dissuade Iran. “It’s amazing that, when we’re in a bilateral position or negotiating one-on-one, somehow the world ends up turning the tables on us. And I’m not going to put my country in that position,” he said.

On the question of military action against Iran, Mr. Bush was responding to an article published at the weekend by Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker magazine, which said the administration was stepping up planning for military strikes on Iran, including the possible use of nuclear weapons to destroy underground targets.

The Washington Post also reported the administration was considering two possible options: a limited air strike against nuclear facilities, and a more prolonged air campaign that would include non-nuclear-related targets.

The FT reported in February that the intelligence wing of the U.S. marines was examining the extent of grievances against Tehran in an attempt to determine whether Iran would be prone to a violent ethnic fragmentation similar to that occurring in Iraq.

Many analysts see the reports about possible military action as sabre-rattling by the Bush administration in an attempt to put pressure on Tehran.

But Iran has continued to insist on its right to develop nuclear energy.

Mr. Bush on Monday emphasized the diplomatic efforts, even trying to redefine the concept of “pre-emption” of emerging threats that was first laid out in the White House’s 2002 national security strategy prior to the war with Iraq. He said the doctrine of prevention was “to work together to prevent the Iranians from having a nuclear weapon”.

He said it “doesn’t mean force, necessarily. In this case it means diplomacy.”

4.

OIL PRICES BRIEFLY EXCEED $69 PER BARREL
By Brad Foss

** Oil Prices Briefly Exceed $69 per Barrel, Gaining Strength from Rally in Gasoline Futures **

Associated Press
April 11, 2006

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=1831455&business=true

WASHINGTON -- Oil prices briefly surpassed $69 a barrel Tuesday, gaining strength from a rally in gasoline futures and declarations from Iran's president that the country had successfully enriched uranium for the first time.

The U.N. Security Council, concerned about Iran's possible intentions to develop nuclear weapons, has demanded that Iran suspend its uranium enrichment program.

The oil-market jitters stemming from Iran's nuclear standoff with the West are compounded by violence in Nigeria, which has resulted in more than half a million barrels per day of lost production, and by the fact that more than 300,000 barrels per day of Gulf of Mexico output remain shut more than seven months after Hurricane Katrina. The next U.S. hurricane season begins June 1.

With daily global demand expected to average 85 million barrels per day in 2006, and the world's suppliers operating with less than 2 million barrels per day of excess production capacity, any additional output snags are likely to drive prices higher, analysts say.

After climbing to $69.45 a barrel in overnight electronic trading a high for 2006 light, sweet crude for May delivery settled at $68.98 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, an increase of 24 cents from Monday's settlement price.

Prudential Financial analyst Aaron Kildow said he expects oil prices to keep trucking higher, with intermittent pauses and retreats. "The whole market feels bullish," he said.

But oil analyst Timothy Evans of IFR Energy Services said there was "risk of exhaustion" in the oil market as prices approach $70 a barrel, not least because U.S. oil inventories are at a seven-year high.

On Tuesday, gasoline futures climbed 4.52 cents to settle at $2.0544 per gallon, roughly one-third percent higher than a year ago.

The average retail price of regular unleaded is $2.69 a gallon nationwide, compared with $2.28 this time last year, according to Oil Price Information Service.

The usual pre-summer gasoline supply worries are heightened this year by the prospect of tight supplies of ethanol, which is being blended with gasoline in increasing amounts as refiners phase out their use of additive MTBE, which has been found to contaminate groundwater. Moreover, gasoline demand over the past four weeks is up 1 percent from a year ago evidence that the high prices are not sapping consumption.

Nymex heating oil prices rose 1.01 cent to close at $1.9555 a gallon. Natural-gas futures edged 2.6 cents higher to finish at $6.908 per 1,000 cubic feet.

While crude futures are 27 percent higher than a year ago, they are still below the record levels reached after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast last year. On Aug. 30, front-month crude-oil futures traded as high as $70.85, then settled at $69.81.

--Associated Press Writer Ali Akbar Dareini in Tehran contributed to this report.

5.

Iranian threat

ISRAEL: IRAN ON FAST TRACK TO BOMB
By Hanan Greenberg

** Security officials worry Iranian president's statements country succeeded in enriching uranium pose real threat, warn international community not moving fast enough with sanctions against Muslim republic. Iran could have nuclear weapons by 2009, intelligence officer states **

YNet News (Israel)
April 12, 2006

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3239245,00.html

Security officials in Israel expressed great concern Tuesday over Iran's declarations it has succeeded in enriching uranium, and contrary to estimates in Washington, they believe President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's statements are more than a political move.

A senior intelligence officer told Ynet that "this is a significant day for the Iranian nuclear program. They still haven't crossed the technological barrier, but are definitely in a point that could lead them to obtain nuclear weapons by 2009."

However, the officer stressed this was no surprise. "This falls in line with our estimates. We believe that there is truth in the statements, and this is worrying, in particular because they are moving faster than the pace of the debate on the Iranian case in the international arena."

Up until now, the discussion on Iran's nuclear plan has revolved around the issue of "the point of no return," which refers to the stage in which the country would be able to enrich uranium without being dependent on other states. The IDF has recently changed its terminology on the matter, opting for the term "crossing the technological barrier." Army sources explain that the change in the wording stems from the conception that at any point in the process, the progress in the Iranian program can be reversed or stopped, either on Iran's own free will or by using military force.

According to the top official, Iran was moving fast in the direction of crossing this barrier. "There is no doubt that within a few months the reality will be different. The Iranians would already posses the required technological knowledge. The talks of a military move by the Americans, or any other superpower, will not materialize very soon. The Iranians are preparing for this option as well, and it is no coincidence they operate in several facilities spread across the country and located underground," he explained.

Ahmadinejad decided to make the advancement in the program public in order to establish facts on the ground and place himself in a better position ahead of any future negotiations, the officer stated. "While the world is debating whether to stop the Iranians by sanctions or military action, Ahmadinejad declares he already has the initial capabilities and that he is in fact in a totally different position."

Israel is now mostly concerned over the slow pace in which the world is moving in dealing with Iran. "Talks of possible sanctions are scheduled for May, and actual steps will only be taken later, while Iran is advancing much faster in its nuclear plan," the officer concluded.

6.

WHITE HOUSE SAYS IRAN IS MOVING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION AFTER ITS NUCLEAR CHIEF CLAIMS TO HAVE PRODUCED 100 TONS OF LOW GRADE ENRICHED UF-6

Debka
April 11, 2006

http://www.debka.org/headline.php?hid=2255

The announcement by head of Iran’s nuclear energy agency Gholamreza Aghazadeh was heralded and followed by a “historical” statement by president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a shrine in Mashad. Ahmadinjejad declared Iran does not seek nuclear weapons and its development of the uranium enrichment capability is solely for peaceful purposes. But he warned that no one should stand in the way of Iran’s right to enrich its own uranium. Iran was now a member of the world’s nuclear energy club, he said to an audience of cheering dignitaries and army chiefs, 24 hours before the arrival in Tehran of chief nuclear watchdog director Mohammed ElBaradei.

Ex-president Rafsanjani speaking in Kuwait cited an uranium enrichment breakthrough on an industrial scale with 164 centrifuges. DEBKAfile reports some sources believe the achievement to consist of success in purifying uranium to 3.5%, which is still below the 8-9% level of nuclear fuel and far less than the 80% for weapons-grade fuel. Nonetheless, Iran’s ability to enrich sufficient uranium to fuel its reactors without having to rely on imports is a significant breakthrough which opens the way for improved results.

To preserve the secrecy of the enrichment site, the Iranians will no doubt claim that have achieved success in laboratory conditions.

The Iranian president’s announcement is a serious rebuff to the UN Security Council’s efforts to persuade Iran to give up its attempts to enrich uranium.

7.

IRAN CELEBRATES URANIUM ENRICHMENT, DEFIES U.N. DEMANDS

DPA
April 11, 2006

Original source: Monsters and Critics

TEHRAN -- Amidst fanfare and in defiance of U.N. demands, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday announced that scientists had successfully enriched uranium at the Natanz plant in central Iran, calling it a 'historic achievement' for the country.

'Iranian scientists succeeded on April 9 in completing uranium enrichment at the required level for the country's nuclear fuel cycle,' Ahmadinejad said in a speech in Mashad in north-eastern Iran, carried live by state-television.

'This is a historic achievement for the Iranian nation and our scientists have now reached the height of science and technology,' the president said in a ceremony attended by local officials who interrupted the president's speech several times with chants of 'Allahu Akbar' -- God is Great.

The move comes in defiance of the March 29 demand by the U.N. Security Council that Iran suspend uranium enrichment efforts within 30 days to ease international concerns that it is trying to build nuclear weapons.

Iranian officials Tuesday repeated past assurances that they would only use the enriched uranium to fuel the country's nuclear power plants that are being constructed.

'We are not after atomic bombs,' the president insisted in an earlier speech Tuesday.

In Washington, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Iran was 'moving in the wrong direction.'

The news 'only further undercores why the international community has serious concerns about the regime's nuclear ambitions,' McClellan was quoted as saying by Bloomberg financial news agency. The spokesman was travelling with U.S. President George Bush to Missouri.

U.N. Security Council members in New York declined comment.

Ahmadinejad vowed to continue cooperation with the U.N.'s nuclear oversight panel, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and to allow IAEA supervision of the country's nuclear sites.

But the president stressed that Iran would not retreat from its right acknowledged within the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

'We will continue this technology until having reached the necessary capacity to provide our nuclear power plants with fuel,' the president said.

Ahmadinejad stressed that Iran had always, and would always, seek peace with the rest of the world but warned the West against any pressure.

'We sincerely advise the West not to repeat the bitter experiences of the past and respect the internationally acknowledged right of Iran (to pursue nuclear technology),' he said, referring to a similar scenario with Iraq which eventually led to war.

Vice-President Gholam-Reza Aqazadeh spoke before the president took the podium, giving details of the Natanz achievement. The first unit of converted uranium (UF6) was enriched at a scale of 3.5 per cent for industrial use, said Aqazadeh, who is also head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization.

Aqazadeh held up several stainless steel canisters, saying they contained the first yellow cake, as the material is known, that had been produced. After he spoke, two groups of costumed celebrants ran through the auditorium and up onto the stage, praising Allah and holding up the canisters.

The Security Council failed to agree on consequences if Iran defies its demands, and last week, Washington indicated it may act on its own, possibly by tightening economic sanctions against the country and expanding international efforts to halt the transport of nuclear materials and other technologies that could lead to the production of atomic weapons.

China and Russia have opposed sanctions.