Iran has taken a giant step towards the capability to produce a nuclear bomb, according to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who announced Saturday that the country now has a complete cycle for producing and processing nuclear fuel. Ahmadinejad's statement was reported by the Iranian Fars news agency.
The United States State Department discounted the claim. "I think we certainly could view it with skepticism," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said. "Iran has in the past (declared) it was running a certain number of centrifuges that didn't really pan out with regard to the International Atomic Energy Agency's own estimate. So it's not clear."
Ahmadinejad claimed that his country "is moving towards advancements very speedily and its progress in different fields is stunning." He has stated that Iran's intentions are to use nuclear fuel only for peaceful purposes, but Western nations strongly doubt the statements in view of Tehran's refusal to allow international inspectors full access to its nuclear reactors under development.
Ahmadinejad also said that his country is prepared for talks with the West if they are based on "justice, law and (mutual) respect," according to the Tehran Times.
Six major Western powers met in London on Wednesday and asked European Union (EU) policy advisor Javier Solana to invite Iran's chief nuclear negotiator for talks. The six countries include China and Russia, which have a huge investment in Iran's nuclear development program and have blocked previous attempts by the U.S. to empower the United Nations to place stiff sanctions against Iran for lack of cooperation with international inspectors.
President Barack Obama has said that his government, unlike the Bush administration, is prepared to talk directly with Iran without preconditions.