Iran vows to continue installing at least 3,000 centrifuges

Iran's government spokesman said on Monday that the country was pushing ahead with its plan to install at least 3,000 centrifuges for nuclear fuel production.

"We are heading towards the production of nuclear fuel that needs 3,000 centrifuges and even more than that," Gholam-Hossein Elham told reporters at his weekly news conference.

"Our plan is moving ahead and in the process of completion. We will announce it during the Ten-Day Dawn festival," Elham said, referring the celebration held on Feb. 1-10 every year to mark the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iranian officials have said that Iran plans to install 3,000 centrifuges for uranium enrichment at a plant in Natanz in central Iran by the end of the current Iranian year, which ends on March 20.

According to Iran's announced plan, it will eventually have 60, 000 centrifuges for uranium enrichment. The country also has an ambitious plan to build 20 nuclear power plants.

Elham insisted that Iran's plan is to produce fuel for those power plants in order to ensure its industrial needs.

Uranium enrichment at low levels can be used to produce fuel to generate electricity but at higher levels can be used to make atomic bombs. Iran has already claimed that it has enriched uranium to levels of around 5 percent.

Meanwhile, Elham reiterated that Iran's nuclear programs were being supervised by the International Atomic Energy Agency and Tehran has no plan to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

However, Iran will "change the path" if Western countries try to create obstacles for its nuclear programs, the Iranian government spokesman warned.

The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1737 on Dec. 23, 2006, demanding Iran to "suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development, and work on all heavy water-related projects."

The resolution also called on all states to impose a ban on trade with Iran in goods related to its nuclear programs and ballistic missile delivery systems.

Iranian officials have rejected the resolution as an "illegal measure" and vowed to continue the country's nuclear programs.

Source: Xinhua