Iran defies UN nuclear watchdog

Iran defied the United Nations yesterday by announcing it has begun converting a large amount of raw uranium to prepare it for enrichment, a process that can be used to develop atomic bombs.

The announcement was likely to provoke an angry reaction from Washington and increase suspicion in Israel, which plans to buy 500 "bunker buster" bombs from the United States that could take out Iran's underground atomic facilities.

Gholamreza Aghazadeh, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, told reporters Iran had begun converting 37 tonnes of raw "yellowcake" uranium to process it for use in nuclear centrifuges - the machines that enrich uranium.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog, adopted a resolution on Saturday calling on Iran to suspend all activities related to uranium enrichment. The United States, Russia and the European Union reinforced the message on Monday by urging Tehran to comply.

"Some of the amount of the 37 tonnes has been used. The tests have been successful but these tests have to be continued using the rest of the material," said Aghazadeh, one of Iran's vice presidents, who is attending a general conference of the Vienna-based IAEA.

One nuclear expert has said that once converted from yellowcake into uranium hexafluoride, the feed material for enrichment centrifuges, Iran would eventually be able to enrich enough uranium for up to five nuclear weapons.

The IAEA is aware of Iran's plan to convert the uranium for the enrichment process and said it would monitor the tests.

"IAEA (chief) Mohamed ElBaradei continues to call on Iran, as did the board, to suspend such a test as part of their confidence building measures," spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said.

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said Iran was determined to press ahead with its atomic programme even if it brought an end to UN checks of the Islamic Republic's nuclear sites.

"We are determined to obtain peaceful atomic technology even if it causes the stop of international supervision," he said.

They (Iran) have a continuous record of making and then breaking promises, both to the board as well as to others," a US State Department official said in New York, where Secretary of State Colin Powell is attending the UN General Assembly.

"This is the pattern of a country that has not made the strategic decision to give up its nuclear weapons programme."