US: The United States yesterday described Iran as a "threat to global peace" after it was disclosed that the Iranian government plans to process 37 tonnes of uranium - sufficient for building up to five nuclear bombs.
The US Under Secretary of State, Mr John Bolton, was commenting on the disclosure by the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran planned to process 37 tonnes of raw "yellowcake" uranium.
"Iran's announcements are further strong evidence of the compelling need to take Iran's nuclear programme to the Security Council," Mr Bolton said in a statement. The UN Security Council can impose economic sanctions.
The UN nuclear watchdog said Iranian technicians had told its inspectors they planned to convert 37 tonnes of yellowcake into uranium hexafluoride - which one Western nuclear expert said could in theory be enough to build five atomic bombs.
Earlier, IAEA inspectors delivered what was seen as a mixed report on Iran's nuclear activities which listed unanswered questions but contained no "smoking gun" confirming US allegations that Tehran was actively building a bomb.
The IAEA said in a confidential report circulated to diplomats that Iran planned an industrial-scale test of a uranium conversion facility soon.
Washington and its allies are expected to point to the test as proof Iran has its eyes on a nuclear weapon.
Iran insists the only purpose of its nuclear programme is the peaceful generation of electricity.
It denies having done any uranium enrichment close to the level needed to fuel a power plant, let alone weapons.
The UN agency said it "continues to make steady progress in understanding the (Iranian nuclear) programme", though its investigation is not complete.
"It is a work in progress," a senior Western diplomat said of the investigation, adding that the IAEA's sixth such report on Iran was "a mixed bag".
The unresolved issues include enriched-uranium particles found in Iran, work on advanced P-2 centrifuges that can make bomb-grade uranium, and suspected Iranian attempts to buy equipment with both military and civilian nuclear applications.
The report will be discussed at a meeting of the IAEA board of governors in September, when Washington is expected to renew its call for the board to report Tehran to the UN Security Council for violating its non-proliferation obligations.
However, diplomats at the UN say Washington has few supporters. - (Reuters)