'Time running out' for Iran: White House warns

WASHINGTON, Nov 29, 2009 (AFP) - The White House warned Sunday that "time is running out" for Iran to comply with international nuclear guidelines, as Tehran announced plans to build 10 new uranium enrichment plants.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement that time is running out for Iran to comply.

"If true, this would be yet another serious violation of Iran's clear obligations under multiple UN security council resolutions, and another example of Iran choosing to isolate itself," Gibbs said in a statement.

"The international community has made clear that Iran has rights, but with those rights come responsibilities," he said.

"Time is running out for Iran to address the international community's growing concerns about its nuclear program," he added.

Western powers have long suspected that Iran, despite its fierce denials, is trying to build a nuclear bomb. They object to Tehran's uranium enrichment work which can be used to power nuclear reactors, but in highly purified form it can make the fissile core of an atom bomb.

The international community is angered that Tehran has refused a nuclear fuel deal brokered by the UN watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency aimed at defusing tensions over its enrichment program.

That deal envisaged shipping abroad Iran's low-enriched uranium (LEU) for conversion into 20 percent enriched uranium to fuel a medical research reactor in Tehran.

Iran insists it is ready to send its LEU abroad only if there is a simultaneous exchange of fuel inside the country.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday that Iran could start enriching uranium to the 20 percent level on its own.

"We will study producing enriched uranium up to the 20 percent purity at Wednesday's meeting of the cabinet. We have cordially approached to the world but we will not allow an inch of our nation's right to be wasted," he said.

Meanwhile, Ali Larijani, the Islamic republic's parliament speaker, warned that the country could "seriously decrease" cooperation with the IAEA.

President Barack Obama's administration has advocated a policy of dialogue with Tehran but has also not ruled out new sanctions if it continues to pursue suspect nuclear activities.

Sunday's announcement came just two days after the end of the tenure of UN atomic watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei at the helm of the IAEA.


by Laurent Lozano
(c) 2009 AFP