U.N. Agent: Iran Developing Nukes (Time Magazine)

[oberliner]

DAVOS, Switzerland — Iran expects to start installing thousands of centrifuges in an underground facility next month, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said Friday, paving the way to large-scale uranium enrichment, a potential method of making nuclear weapons.

On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, Mohamed ElBaradei said: "I understand that they are going to announce that they are going to build up their 3,000-centrifuge facility ... sometime next month."

He did not elaborate. But U.N. officials, who demanded anonymity because the information was confidential, emphasized that Iran had not officially said it would embark on the assembly of what will initially be 3,000 centrifuges at Natanz. But they said senior officials have informally told the International Atomic Energy Agency the work would begin next month.

Iran ultimately plans to expand its enrichment program to 54,000 centrifuges, which spin uranium gas into enriched material to produce nuclear fuel. That would give it the capacity to produce dozens of nuclear warheads a year, if it chose to develop weapons.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1582595,00.html

[AX10]

1. This sounds familiar...

[oberliner]

2. The quote is from El Baradei

For what that is worth.

[bananas]

3. What quote?

Did El Baradei say anything about weapons? No.

[oberliner]

4. the one about the centrifuges

true, he said nothing about weapons

[bananas]

5. Iran said that publicly months ago

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iran-timeline.htm

On 14 November 2006 President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that two major technological achievements of the government will be made public during the Ten-Day Dawn (February 1-11) of 2007. He said this year's Ten-Day Dawn will the ten-day celebration of Iranian nation for its nuclear and technological achievements. "This year's Ten-Day Dawn period will mark the Iranian nation's success in mastering fuel cycle as well as its achievements in other fields," Ahmadinejad said. He said Iran possesses the “full nuclear fuel cycle and time is completely running in our favor in terms of diplomacy.” Further, “We will commission some 3,000 centrifuges by .” On 18 Decenber 2006 Government Spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham said that Iran will be announced as an established nuclear state during the 2007 Ten Day Dawn ceremonies.