Ilam, Iran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on
Wednesday that Islamic republic still seeks at least 50,000 uranium-
enriching centrifuges in order to provide fuel for its nuclear power
plants in the future.
'We need at least 50,000 centrifuges in order to realize our aim
of producing our own nuclear fuel,' Ahmadinejad said in a speech in
Galavizan sports in the western provincial capital city of Ilam.
In September, Ahmadinejad said Iran had reached a key point of its
nuclear drive by installing 3,000 uranium-enriching centrifuges which
were all operational.
Experts say 3,000 centrifuges could make enough enriched uranium
for an atomic bomb in about a year if they were operating properly
for long periods at supersonic speeds.
The United Nations Security Council has passed two resolutions
calling on Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activities.
While the West suspects Tehran of actively pursuing nuclear
weapons, Tehran insists it is for peaceful purposes aiming at
producing electricity.
'We have not given in to any suspension of uranium enrichment and
it was great work by Iranian nation to resist the big powers for a
long time,' Ahmadinejad said in defiance of world powers.
Rejecting the UN demands, Iran calls the US and its Western allies
to stop politicizing Iran's nuclear programme and allow the dossier
to be returned from the UN Security Council to the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
A US intelligence released a report on Monday verifying Iran had
halted its atomic weapons programme in 2003 and seemed less
determined to develop nuclear arms than George W Bush's
administration previously believed.
As of mid-2007, Iran had not resumed its nuclear weapons programme
even as it was continuing uranium enrichment in defiance of the
United Nations Security Council, the National Intelligence Estimate
(NIE) report said.
Ahmadinejad earlier termed the report as a victory for Iranian
nation in nuclear battle against the Washington and said 'What's
important is, we won the battle against the US for maintaining our
grace and independence.
He reiterated his country will not back down in its nuclear
dispute with the West: 'Following this (US intelligence) report, the
enemies of Iran have realized that they can not intimidate our nation
with threats.'
On Tuesday, President George W Bush stood by his tough Iran policy
and said 'I believed before the NIE that Iran was dangerous and I
believe after the NIE that Iran is dangerous.'
'And I believe now is the time for the world to do the hard work
necessary to convince the Iranians there is a better way forward,'
Bush said at a White House press conference.
Washington has had comprehensive sanctions on Iran since the 1979-
1981 US embassy takeover, and Bush ordered the tightening of the
sanctions in October to target Iranian banks and financial
institutions believed to be supporting Tehran's nuclear work.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
waine UKDec 5th, 2007 - 19:03:16
Iran has every right to persue it's nucleer activitis. Like the rest of the world it knows that oil will eventually run out, and it has to be prepared, here in the UK we are on the brink to building more nucleer power stations,( what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander,) The West has said it would supply the uranium for Irans power plants, but would any country in it's right mind be held hostage to the warmongering West especially the Americans, it would be suicide.
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