IRAN has begun uranium enrichment at a new underground sitebuilt to withstand possible air strikes, a leading hard-line newspaper has reported, in another show of defiance against Western pressure to rein in Tehran's nuclear program.
The operations at the bunker-like facility south of Tehran, reported by the Kayhannewspaper today, are small in comparison to Iran's main enrichment site. But the centrifuges at the underground labs are considered more efficient and are shielded from aerial surveillance and protected against air strikes by up to 90 metres of mountain rock.
Iran's nuclear chief, Fereidoun Abbasi, said yesterday that his country will "soon" begin enrichment. It was impossible to immediately reconcile the two reports.
Uranium enrichment is at the core of the international standoff over Iran's nuclear program. The US and its allies fear Iran could use its enrichment facilities to develop high-grade nuclear material for warheads.
Iran, which claims it only seeks nuclear reactors for energy andresearch, has sharply increased its threats and military posturing against stronger pressures, including US sanctions targeting Iran's Central Bank in attempts to complicate its ability to sell oil.
A senior commander ofthe Revolutionary Guardforce was quoted as saying Tehran's leadership has decided to order the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, astrategic oil route, if the country's petroleum exports are blocked.
evolutionary Guard ground forces also staged war games in eastern Iran in an apparent display of resolve against US forces just over the border in Afghanistan.
Iranian officials have issued similar threats, but this is the strongest statement yet by a top commander in the security establishment.
"The supreme authorities ... have insisted that if enemies block the export of our oil, we won't allow a drop of oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. This is the strategy of the Islamic Republic in countering such threats," Revolutionary Guard deputy commander Ali Ashraf Nouri was quoted as saying by another newspaper, the Khorasan.
The latest statementsare certain to ramp up tensions with the US and its allies, which are trying to increase pressure on Iran to punish it for its disputed nuclear program.
For the moment, however, US officials are seeking stronger diplomatic and economic pressure on Iran rather than increasing threats of military action. A number of experts say Iran is unlikely to close the strait because thatcould hurt Iran as muchas the West.
In an interview broadcast today, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Iran is laying the groundwork for makingnuclear weapons someday, but is not yet building a bomb.
Panetta reiterated US concerns about a unilateral strike by Israel against Iran's nuclear facilities, sayingthe action could trigger Iranian retaliation against American forces in the region.
"We have common cause here" with Israel,he said. "And the better approach is for us to work together." - By Ali Akbar Dareini and Brian Murphy in Tehran
kankar.peperonity.com
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