UN nuke chief: Iran's program limited

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

UN nuke chief: Iran's program limited

By DONNA ABU-NASR, Associated Press Writer
43 minutes ago

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Wednesday
Iran is operating only several hundred centrifuges at its uranium enrichment
plant at Natanz, despite its claims to have activated 3,000.

Mohamed ElBaradei said Iran's nuclear program was a concern, but he discounted
Tehran's claims of a major advance in uranium enrichment, a process the United
Nations demands Iran suspend or else be hit by increasing sanctions.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Monday that the Natanz
facility had begun "industrial-scale" production of nuclear fuel. Iran's top nuclear
negotiator said workers had begun injecting uranium gas into a new array of
3,000 centrifuges, many more than the 328 centrifuges known to be operating
at Natanz.

Iran ultimately aims to operate more than 50,000 of the devices at the site.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070412/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_nuclear

---

Source: Reuters

Gulf states nuclear ambitions to take years: IAEA

Thu Apr 12, 10:43 AM ET

RIYADH (Reuters) - Arab Gulf states may need a decade or more to train experts
and carry out studies before they can develop nuclear energy, the head of the
U.N. atomic watchdog said on Thursday.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) agreed in February to cooperate on a feasibility study on regional plans
for a nuclear energy program.

The GCC, which groups Arab countries in the world's top oil and gas exporting
region, said in December it had decided to set up the joint civil atomic program,
raising concerns in the West that the Arab states may want to protect
themselves if Iran acquires nuclear weapons and sparking fears of an arms race.

IAEA's chief Mohamed ElBaradei said Gulf states wanted to use nuclear energy
for desalination, power generation and health care.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070412/wl_nm/gulf_nuclear_elbaradei_dc_1