Natanz

WASHINGTON - Iran has told the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency that it plans to add 3,000 faster centrifuges to its main uranium enrichment facility, a step that could shorten the time needed if Tehran decides to build a nuclear bomb. Officials with the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday that Iranian authorities had informed them in a letter that Tehran would add IR-2m centrifuges, which spin three to five times faster than the current IR-1 model, to the enrichment hall at the Natanz nuclear complex.

TEHRAN -- On the eve of international talks about its disputed nuclear program, Iran announced Saturday that it had designated 16 sites for new nuclear power plants and also had discovered substantial new uranium deposits in its territory. The Islamic Republic also confirmed earlier reports that it had installed scores of new centrifuges to enrich uranium at its Natanz site in central Iran. The timing of Saturday's announcements from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran suggests that Tehran is trying to bolster its negotiating position in advance of nuclear talks scheduled to begin Tuesday in Kazakhstan.

Iran has increased the number of operating centrifuges at its uranium enrichment plant to 4,000, a top official said, pushing ahead with the nuclear program despite threats of new U.N. sanctions. The number was up from the 3,000 centrifuges that Iran announced in November that it was operating at its plant in the central city of Natanz. Still, it is well below the 6,000 it said last year that it would operate by this summer, suggesting the program may be behind schedule. Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Reza Sheik Attar, who visited Natanz last week, said Iran was preparing to install even more centrifuges.

WASHINGTON - Iran has told the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency that it plans to add 3,000 faster centrifuges to its main uranium enrichment facility, a step that could shorten the time needed if Tehran decides to build a nuclear bomb. Officials with the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday that Iranian authorities had informed them in a letter that Tehran would add IR-2m centrifuges, which spin three to five times faster than the current IR-1 model, to the enrichment hall at the Natanz nuclear complex.

Iran has produced more than enough nuclear fuel to power two atomic warheads if it were to further enrich its supply and disregard its treaty obligations, according to a report issued Monday by the world's nuclear energy watchdog. At the same time, Iran's controversial efforts to master the enrichment of uranium at its production facility near the town of Natanz could be slowing or stalling, according to the quarterly report, which International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Yukiya Amano delivered to his governing board ahead of a meeting next week.

TEHRAN -- On the eve of international talks about its disputed nuclear program, Iran announced Saturday that it had designated 16 sites for new nuclear power plants and also had discovered substantial new uranium deposits in its territory. The Islamic Republic also confirmed earlier reports that it had installed scores of new centrifuges to enrich uranium at its Natanz site in central Iran. The timing of Saturday's announcements from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran suggests that Tehran is trying to bolster its negotiating position in advance of nuclear talks scheduled to begin Tuesday in Kazakhstan.

WASHINGTON - The United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency is expected to report next week that Iran has significantly expanded its uranium enrichment capability at its Fordow facility, according to U.S. officials and others briefed on the finding. The move could shorten the time Tehran would need to build a nuclear weapon. "My understanding is that work at the Fordow facility has been dramatically intensified," said Ray Takeyh, an Iran expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. "There are now 1,500 centrifuges completed, up from 700," he added, although the new centrifuges are not believed to be working yet. The Fordow facility, tucked into the mountains near the holy city of Qom, was secretly built deep underground to withstand an air attack.

A senior State Department official said Thursday that he expected Iran to reject a U.N.-backed entreaty to end its nuclear enrichment program and said the U.S. would quickly press for international sanctions against Tehran if the Aug. 31 deadline was not met. Undersecretary of State R.

Despite President Obama's assurances that the United States will know if Tehran begins to secretly build a nuclear bomb, some senior officials familiar with U.S. intelligence and spying capabilities in Iran are doubtful. The issue is a crucial one because the White House has suggested that U.S. satellites, sensors and spies, as well as United Nations inspections, provide a reliable tripwire to decide whether diplomacy has failed and military action is needed to stop Iran from assembling a nuclear device.

The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency said Thursday that Iran was operating only several hundred centrifuges at its uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, despite its claims to have activated 3,000. Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Iran's nuclear program was a concern but discounted its claims of a major advance in uranium enrichment, a process the U.N. demands Iran suspend or face increasing sanctions.

WASHINGTON - The United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency is expected to report next week that Iran has significantly expanded its uranium enrichment capability at its Fordow facility, according to U.S. officials and others briefed on the finding. The move could shorten the time Tehran would need to build a nuclear weapon. "My understanding is that work at the Fordow facility has been dramatically intensified," said Ray Takeyh, an Iran expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. "There are now 1,500 centrifuges completed, up from 700," he added, although the new centrifuges are not believed to be working yet. The Fordow facility, tucked into the mountains near the holy city of Qom, was secretly built deep underground to withstand an air attack.

Despite President Obama's assurances that the United States will know if Tehran begins to secretly build a nuclear bomb, some senior officials familiar with U.S. intelligence and spying capabilities in Iran are doubtful. The issue is a crucial one because the White House has suggested that U.S. satellites, sensors and spies, as well as United Nations inspections, provide a reliable tripwire to decide whether diplomacy has failed and military action is needed to stop Iran from assembling a nuclear device.

Iran has produced more than enough nuclear fuel to power two atomic warheads if it were to further enrich its supply and disregard its treaty obligations, according to a report issued Monday by the world's nuclear energy watchdog. At the same time, Iran's controversial efforts to master the enrichment of uranium at its production facility near the town of Natanz could be slowing or stalling, according to the quarterly report, which International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Yukiya Amano delivered to his governing board ahead of a meeting next week.

Iran has increased the number of operating centrifuges at its uranium enrichment plant to 4,000, a top official said, pushing ahead with the nuclear program despite threats of new U.N. sanctions. The number was up from the 3,000 centrifuges that Iran announced in November that it was operating at its plant in the central city of Natanz. Still, it is well below the 6,000 it said last year that it would operate by this summer, suggesting the program may be behind schedule. Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Reza Sheik Attar, who visited Natanz last week, said Iran was preparing to install even more centrifuges.

A senior State Department official said Thursday that he expected Iran to reject a U.N.-backed entreaty to end its nuclear enrichment program and said the U.S. would quickly press for international sanctions against Tehran if the Aug. 31 deadline was not met. Undersecretary of State R.

Iran said Saturday that it was likely to resume activities related to uranium enrichment within a week, a process it had halted last year to build confidence in talks with European countries and avoid referral to the United Nations Security Council for possible sanctions. Tehran's announcement came a day after talks in London with European negotiators yielded no results.

The top U.N. nuclear inspector visited the site of a nuclear plant Friday that Iran says will be used for peaceful purposes but that the United States insists is intended to fuel a secret weapons program. Mohamed ElBaradei, accompanied by two other top officials from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, visited the Natanz nuclear plant, which is under construction at the foot of a mountain in central Iran.