Defiant Iran Accelerates Nuclear Program

Iran began enriching uranium to a higher level on Tuesday, an acceleration of its nuclear program that was followed by a U.S. threat of a "significant regime of sanctions."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks during a ceremony to introduce the domestically produced Simorq propulsion system, for rockets to carry satellites into space, during a ceremony in Tehran February 3, 2010.

(Ebrahim Noroozi/IIPA/Reuters)

Speaking in Washington, President Barack Obama said the process of developing an additional set of sanctions on Iran was moving along quickly, but he gave no specific timeline.

Iran, he said, was still pursuing a nuclear program that would lead to nuclear weapons.

Iran's announcement Tuesday that it has begun enriching uranium to a higher level raised fears that the process could eventually be used to give the Islamic republic nuclear weapons. Iran denies that its program is geared toward acquiring a nuclear weapon.

France and the U.S. have said that Iran's action left no choice but to push harder for a fourth set of U.N. Security Council sanctions to punish it. Russia, which has close ties to Iran and has opposed new sanctions, appeared to edge closer to Washington's position, saying the new enrichment plans show the suspicions about Iran's intentions are well-founded.

Related

Iran Moves Closer to Nuke Warhead Capacity

Iran's Mousavi Says He Won't Give Up the Fight

Iran 'on Way to Atomic Bomb Capability'

Iranian state television said the process began in the presence of inspectors from the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency. Uranium has to be enriched to fuel nuclear power plants and Iran needs the 20 percent enriched fuel for a research reactor producing medical isotopes.

Enriching uranium to 90 percent, however, creates the material for nuclear weapons, which many countries are afraid Iran is seeking. Iran denies the charge.

In an effort to defuse the crisis, the International Atomic Energy Agency brokered a deal last year in which Iran would ship out its low enriched uranium to be processed abroad and returned a year later.

Iran initially rejected the deal, then later said that if an acceptable alternative could be reached, it would not continue the high level enriching process.

Ali Akbar Salehi, a vice president as well as the head of the country's nuclear program, said the further enrichment would be unnecessary if the West found a way to provide Iran with the needed fuel.