Iran said today it had begun industrial scale nuclear fuel production in a fresh snub to the UN Security Council which has imposed two rounds of sanctions on Tehran for refusing to halt such work.
Ahmadinejad: Iran is among the countries which produce nuclear fuel on an industrial scale
"I proudly announce that as of today Iran is among the countries which produce nuclear fuel on an industrial scale," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a gathering at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran.
Western nations, led by the United States, suspect Iran's nuclear programme is aimed at producing atomic weapons. Iran says the nuclear fuel will only be used to generate electricity.
Iran, which announced a year ago it had successfully produced its first batch of enriched uranium, has said it will install 3,000 centrifuges at Natanz as the first stage towards "industrial scale" fuel production.
Eventually it plans to have 54,000 of the machines which spin at supersonic speeds to produce fuel for nuclear reactors or, it enriched further, nuclear bombs.
With 3,000 centrifuges, Iran could make enough material for a bomb in one year, if it wanted, Western experts say. Mr Ahmadinejad vowed Iran would not bow to outside pressure to halt its nuclear programme.
"Iran has so far moved in a completely peaceful path and wants to continue following this path, they should avoid doing something which forces this nation to review its behaviour," he said.
The UN Security Council has passed two sanctions resolutions on Iran since December, targeting its nuclear and military sectors and severely impeding its financial transactions with the outside world.
"If they continue to pressure Iran over its peaceful nuclear activities we have no other choice but to follow parliament's order and review our membership of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty," said Ali Larijani, Iran's chief negotiator in the nuclear talks with the West.
Mr Larijani was asked if Iran had started injecting gas into 3,000 centrifuges to enrich uranium being set up at the Natanz atomic site, he said: "Yes we have injected gas."
But he did not say how many of the 3,000 machines had been sucessfully installed. Mr Larijani, said Iran was willing to negotiate with the West and offer assurances that its programme was peaceful.
But he said the West must accept its nuclear programme as a fact.
To mark the celebration, state television broadcast programming on how enrichment is carried out and detailed how many nuclear plants countries like the United States and France possessed. It said atomic progress was a source of "national pride of the highest degree".
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog, says it has gaps in its knowledge about Iran's plans that must be filled before it can say they are peaceful. The IAEA is pushing Tehran to agree to let it install cameras in the underground section of Natanz to monitor Iran's work. Iran says such intrusive surveillance goes beyond its basic safeguards commitment to the IAEA.
Across Iran, school bells rang to mark the "national day of nuclear energy." The government sent out text messages of congratulations for the occasion to millions of mobile phone users. In Tehran, some 200 students formed a human chain at Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation while chanting "Death to America" and "Death to Britain."
The students burned flags of the US and Britain. On April 9th, 2006, Iran announced it had first enriched uranium using an array of 164 centrifuges.
The US said Iran's latest statements on its nuclear program were "another signal" that Tehran was defying the international community's call to give up enrichment activities.
"It's a missed opportunity," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said when asked about Iran's announcement that it had begun industrial scale nuclear fuel production.
"This is another signal that Iran is defying the international community."
McCormack said he hoped "reasonable" Iranian leaders would do the cost-benefit calculations and see that the current approach did not benefit Iran's people.
"There is a way out. There is a negotiation alternative should the Iranian leadership choose to take it. To date they have not and today is another indication that they have chosen not to," said Mr McCormack.
He said Mr Ahmadinejad's speech showed that UN actions against Tehran were legitimate and justified. The United Nations has imposed two rounds of sanctions against Tehran for its refusal to give up sensitive enrichment work.
"The overall trend line is Iran continuing to defy the international system and once again only raising questions about the intentions of their nuclear program," Mr McCormack said.