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Iran says a goal is reached on uranium for nuclear program

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's president claimed Sunday that his country is now running 3,000 centrifuges to enrich uranium for its nuclear program, reaching an Iranian goal that could add momentum to efforts to impose new U.N. sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

The claim appeared at odds with a report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Thursday that put the number much lower - at close to 2,000. The International Atomic Energy Agency said enrichment had slowed and Iran was cooperating with its nuclear inquiry, which could fend off calls for a third round of sanctions.

"The West thought the Iranian nation would give in after just a resolution, but now we have taken another step in the nuclear progress and launched more than 3,000 centrifuge machines, installing a new cascade every week," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in remarks carried by the state television Web site.

Iran previously announced operating 3,000 centrifuges in April, but the IAEA said at the time that Iran had only 328 centrifuges going at its underground Natanz enrichment facility in central Iran.

In the latest report, drawn up by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei, the organization put the number of centrifuges enriching uranium in Natanz at close to 2,000 with another 650 being tested.

The 2,000 figure is an increase of a few hundred of the machines over May, when the IAEA had last reported on Iran. Still, the rate of expansion is much slower than a few months ago, when the country was assembling close to 200 centrifuges every two weeks.

"The recent report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog agrees with Iran's approach and the dispute over Iran's nuclear case has ended," Ahmadinejad said. The IAEA report noted an increased willingness by the Iranians to answer questions after years of stonewalling and was seen as putting the brakes on the push for new sanctions.

U.N. officials have suggested that Iran had slowed its program and increased its cooperation with the agency investigators to avert the new sanctions.

The report said that Iran continued to produce only negligible amounts of nuclear fuel with its centrifuges, far below the level usable for nuclear warheads.

The president's announcements appeared to mark a shift away from that strategy.

Iran's ultimate stated goal for the Natanz facility, the only site now open to full IAEA monitoring, is to run 54,000 centrifuges - enough for dozens of nuclear weapons a year.

[Last modified September 3, 2007, 01:25:25]