Top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said on Sunday that his country has rejected last week’s U.N. Security Council resolution. “We will expand nuclear activities where required,” he said. “It includes all nuclear technology including the string of centrifuges.”
Iranian nuclear engineers use the centrifuges to enrich uranium. Enriched uranium can be used, among other things, to generate electricity – or to build a nuclear weapon, depending on the level of enrichment.
Plans are on the table to install 3,000 centrifuges at the enrichment plant in the city of Natanz in central Iran by October. In February, Iran used a cascade of 164 centrifuges to produce low-grade enriched uranium.
The UN resolution sets an August 31 deadline for Iran to stop its nuclear activities. Political and economic sanctions may be considered if Iran does not cooperate.
Larijani said his nation considers the resolution to be "illegal," saying that it was “contrary” to the package of incentives to suspend its uranium enrichment program offered by Western nations two months ago.
“We won’t accept suspension,” he said, adding that Iran would formally respond to the offer on August 22nd. The Islamic Republic said its nuclear program is geared for domestic use only. The United States has maintained that Iranian scientists are in the process of building an atomic weapon.
Israeli security officials have said that the long-range rockets now being used to bomb Israeli cities in northern Israel are Iranian-made. The Hizbullah terrorist organization, which is at war with Israel, is heavily supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Iranian nuclear engineers use the centrifuges to enrich uranium. Enriched uranium can be used, among other things, to generate electricity – or to build a nuclear weapon, depending on the level of enrichment.
Plans are on the table to install 3,000 centrifuges at the enrichment plant in the city of Natanz in central Iran by October. In February, Iran used a cascade of 164 centrifuges to produce low-grade enriched uranium.
The UN resolution sets an August 31 deadline for Iran to stop its nuclear activities. Political and economic sanctions may be considered if Iran does not cooperate.
Larijani said his nation considers the resolution to be "illegal," saying that it was “contrary” to the package of incentives to suspend its uranium enrichment program offered by Western nations two months ago.
“We won’t accept suspension,” he said, adding that Iran would formally respond to the offer on August 22nd. The Islamic Republic said its nuclear program is geared for domestic use only. The United States has maintained that Iranian scientists are in the process of building an atomic weapon.
Israeli security officials have said that the long-range rockets now being used to bomb Israeli cities in northern Israel are Iranian-made. The Hizbullah terrorist organization, which is at war with Israel, is heavily supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran.