A top Iranian official has confirmed on Tuesday that
Iran had enriched uranium up to 4.8 percent purity,the ISNA news agency
reported.
"Iran has successfully produced enriched uranium up to 4.8 percent. This
level can satisfy Iran's demand to produce nuclear energy fuel," Chairman of
Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Gholam Reza Aghazadeh was quoted as saying.
"Purity of more than 5 percent is not on agenda now," he said,but adding Iran
will deploy more than 3,000 centrifuges to upgrade enrichment work soon.
On April 11, President Ahmadinejad officially declared that Iran has gained
ticket to join global nuclear club by having produced 3.5 percent enriched
uranium from 164 centrifuges in the central town of Natanz, a technological leap
in the process for nuclear power plant construction.
Enrichment is the process for manufacturing fuel for civil nuclear power
devices but uranium more than 90 percent purity can also be used to build an
atomic bomb.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Chief Mohamed ElBaradei
submitted a report last Friday to the UN Security Council, saying Iran had
ignored a non-binding demand to suspendall uranium enrichment before last
Friday's deadline.
The IAEA has prompted calls from Western powers for tougher Security Council
action against Iran.
Foreign ministers of five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- the
United States, Britain, France, Russia and China --plus Germany are scheduled to
meet in New York on May 9 to discuss response to ElBaradei's report.