Iran plans for new enrichment plants a 'serious concern': Britain

LONDON, Nov 29, 2009 (AFP) - Britain on Sunday warned that Iranian plans to build new uranium enrichment plants were a "matter of serious concern" and would breach UN Security Council resolutions.

"Reports that Iran is considering building more enrichment facilities are clearly a matter of serious concern. It would be a deliberate breach of five UN Security Council resolutions," a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.


"We need to consider our response in partnership with the IAEA and others." A defiant Iranian government led by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed on Sunday to build 10 new uranium enrichment plants and also study a plan to process the material to 20 percent purity, Iran state media said.

The move comes after the UN watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Friday condemned Iran for building a second enrichment plant near the Shiite holy city of Qom, and asked for its construction to stop.

Angry Iranian MPs demanded that Ahmadinejad's government reduce ties with the IAEA following the resolution.

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.

World powers are also irked at Tehran for refusing a high-profile nuclear fuel deal brokered by the IAEA aimed at defusing tensions over its enrichment program.

That deal envisages 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.

The IAEA resolution saw China and Russia join Britain, France, Germany and the United States in condemning Iran over the Qom plant.

"The IAEA made clear, as we have done many times, that this is not about denying Iran of any of its rights but making sure that Iran abides by its responsibility to the international community," the Foreign Office spokeswoman said.


by Laurent Lozano
(c) 2009 AFP