Iran: Nuclear enrichment advances with "intensity"

Fereydoun Abbasi, Iran's vice president and head of its Atomic Energy Organization, delivers a speech at the general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna Sept. 17, 2012. / AP Photo

TEHRAN, Iran Iran will step up its uranium enrichment program by sharply increasing the number of centrifuges used to make nuclear fuel, a senior official said Wednesday, in direct defiance of Western demands.

The statement by Iran's nuclear chief, Fereidoun Abbasi, is likely to escalate tensions. The West suspects Iran's nuclear program could be headed toward weapons production and has imposed punishing sanctions to try to persuade Tehran to stop enrichment.

Iran has denied the charges, saying its program is peaceful and geared toward generating electricity and producing radioisotopes to treat cancer patients.

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Uranium enriched to a low level is used to produce nuclear fuel for reactors, but high level enrichment would make it suitable for use in atomic warheads.

Abbasi said Iran is making nuclear advances in the face of the severe economic measures imposed by the U.N. and the West.

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"Despite sanctions, we will most likely see a substantial increase in the number of centrifuge machines this year. We will continue enrichment with intensity," Abbasi was quoted by state TV as saying Wednesday. The Iranian calendar year ends on March 20.

Abbasi did not say if Iran's stepped up work would be at the five percent fuel level or the higher 20 percent quality, which has worried the West because it can be purified to weapons grade more quickly. There have been indications that Iran may push its enrichment even higher than the 20 percent acknowledged to U.N. nuclear watchdogs.

His remarks came days after the U.N. agency said Iran is about to double its output of higher enriched uranium at its fortified Fordo underground facility. That could move Iran closer to weapons capability.

A Nov. 8 report by the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran has installed about 2,800 centrifuges at Fordo and is poised to double the number of operating centrifuges, from the current 700 to nearly 1,400.

Iran says it needs 20 percent enriched uranium to make fuel for a medical research reactor in Tehran that produces isotopes for about 1 million patients annually.

Abbasi also said Iran will soon conduct a test run of its heavy water reactor in Arak in central Iran, despite demands from the U.N. to stop the work. The test will use virtual fuel, not actual radioactive material, he said.

He said construction of the 40-megawatt research reactor is progressing on schedule, but he noted that experts are handling the project with greater care in anticipation of possible sabotage attempts.

"The Arak reactor is progressing without any problem according to the schedule. Only because of security considerations, we are moving with caution, since enemy intends to harm this reactor," he was quoted by state TV as saying. "All the equipment needed to operate this reactor has been purchased."

The West is concerned that the heavy water reactor could produce enough plutonium for a nuclear weapon each year, if the spent fuel is reprocessed. That would be another pathway for bomb-grade material, but Iran is not known to possess a plutonium reprocessing facility

Iran has experienced explosions and malfunctions at its nuclear and industrial sites, partly due to faulty equipment secretly procured on the global market.

Also, Iran says it is the target of a campaign that has included the abduction and assassination of scientists, the sale of faulty equipment and the planting of a destructive computer worm known as Stuxnet, which briefly brought Iran's uranium enrichment activity to a halt in 2010.

[Biggest_Lew]

Iran: Nuclear enrichment advances with "intensity". Fair enough. The hammer will also fall with "intensity".

The fanatic Mullahs in Iran will NEVER be allowed to complete their nuclear weapons program.

You make your bed, you sleep in it!

[Plumbline9]

Ezekiel 35:11-12...........
11 therefore, as I live," says the Lord God, "I will do according to your anger and according to the envy which you showed in your hatred against them; and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you. 12 Then you shall know that I am the Lord. I have heard all your blasphemies which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, 'They are desolate; they are given to us to consume.'

[parisdakar]

Short of getting involved in another messy arab conflict, there's not much we can do. So let them build it. Iran has to understand that if one of their nukes is ever used against another country, that the rest of he world will pound them out of existence.

[Choons]

why would those idiots publicly announce this?

[Biggest_Lew]

IMHO, Not trying to provoke. It's BLUSTER. Trying to gain face among other Arab nations.

Remember Saddam? His empty threats: "The Mother Of All Battles"?

It's a cultural thing. Arabs who stand up to the west, and especially against the "Satan America" gain credibility amongst their Arab brethren. Iran wishes to become the leading Islamic power in the world - so they cater to their audience.

One would think that they would have learned the lessons that the US and Israel have demonstrated to them so many times: We don't bull$hit, we play for keeps, FIRST time.

Unfortunately for them, and as Saddam proved, more often than not the threats are so much pi$$ in the wind.

Never fear, Iran will NEVER be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.

[sweetcakesmaria]

The only workable solution to this problem is for the Middle East to become a Nuclear Weapons free zone. No one should have Nuclear weapons in the Middle East including Israel. It is not going to work if one Middle East Country is allowed to have Nuclear Weapons while at the same time, you're telling their neighbors that they are prohibited from having them.

[Biggest_Lew]

Apparently, there are some here who have never heard of "nuclear fallout", are unaware of Israel's "Samson Option", and pretend that they don't understand the ramifications of the outcome they espouse.

There can be no intelligent exchange of differing viewpoints with those who are ignorant of simple, proven facts. Not when that ignorance is bred by pure, bigoted hatred.

[gorgeousm]

HOW CAN WE HELP THE PARTIES IN CONFLICT OVERCOME
WHAT ARE THEIR IMMUTABLE RELIGIOUS DEFICITS?

Any reference to MAD as a deterrent, contains one major flaw:
MAD or Mutually Assured Destruction is not a deterrent for current,
"murder-destroy-and-die-for", Apocalyptic-minded Iranian rulers.

The current religiously-fanatical (and yes religiously and otherwise FASCISTIC) Iranian rulers, actually PLAN AND PRAY FOR achieving the capability to precipitate The Apocalypse, as their "Holy Islamic Duty", in order that they create the 'right conditions' for The Mahdi's (the Muslim Messiah's) arrival, for The Mahdi to impose "God/Allah-approved" Strict Islamic Law or Sharia onto the entire world. Unfortunately, the 'right conditions' means AFTER WORLD DESTRUCTION.

URGENT NEED FOR TEMPERING IMMUTABLE ABRAHAMIC RELIGIOUS MINDSET
Freedom of Religion may be an inherent right, but freedom to degenerate into the dangerous and destructive fantasy of religious thinking and mindset, which is invariably based on highly-subjective, holier-than-thou viewpoints, revelations, visions, and/or delusions, transpires into something not nearly as wonderful as once taught and thought. The forgoing particularly applies to Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

If anything can be considered warped, irrational, and extremely dangerous mindset as the result of RELIGIOUS FANTASY ...

... we are living witnesses to just about the greatest threat to our planet's existence:
The Apocalyptic plans as "Holy Islamic Purpose and Duty" that Iranian Ayatollahs and Iranian Leaders envision, for all people and all nations.
By now, that is self evident.

CONCLUSION:
"Nothing is permanent, exception change."

We have never experienced a war with NUCLEAR EXCHANGES.
The horrors that religion and religious thinking with past 'state of the art' devices of torture, destruction and murder, are paled by our latest 'advances' - our bio, chem, and nuketechs being applied to "God's will".

MAD or Mutually Assured Destruction canNOT be applied to Iranian Ayatollahs'
and Iranian Leaders' mindsets - their Apocalyptic-mindsets!

[Biggest_Lew]

Chuck, don't bother. Anyone who doesn't know the meaning of the phrase "nuclear EXCHANGE", yet blathers on about it, is obviously not worth trying to discuss this with.

There can be no discussion when one side is too ignorant or bigoted to respond rationally.