Iran vows to push nuke program
(AP)Updated: 2007-02-02 08:34
Ahmadinejad's remarks Thursday signaled that Iran would begin the installation before Feb. 11 — the final day of nationwide celebrations in memory of the Islamic revolution. He has also called people to the streets that day to show support for the nuclear program.
"Enemies of the Iranian nation ... must know that their wrongful beliefs will be revealed once again during Feb. 11 rallies by the great Iranian nation," he said, according to the state-run news agency.
The United States and many Western countries accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. The Security Council has threatened to impose further sanctions on Iran if it continues to refuse to roll back its program.
Iran insists its program is peaceful. It ultimately plans to expand it to 54,000 centrifuges, a large operation enriching more uranium within a shorter period of time.
So far, its two linked chains of 164 machines have been operating sporadically at the above-ground portion of the Natanz facility, producing small quantities of non-weapons grade enriched uranium, International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors say.
Two smaller assemblies underground have been "dry testing" — without gas — since November, they say.
Iranian officials have turned down a request from IAEA inspectors to install cameras in the underground Natanz facility, a U.N. official familiar with Iran's nuclear dossier said in Vienna.
Ahmadinejad, whose hard-line tactics have faced criticism from both reformists and conservatives at home, also hinted Thursday that key decisions in Iran are made by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, not him.
"The general policies of the system are made by the Exalted Supreme Leader, and the government is required to carry them out," the state news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. "The president, as the head of the country's executive body, pursues and announces the nuclear position."
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