By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
TEHRAN, Iran – On November 29 the Iranian government began making arrangements for the construction of ten new uranium enrichment plants. The government ordered the country’s nuclear agency to begin work on five sites with five more to be located within the next two months. The announcement comes two days after the country was rebuked by the United Nations for covering up a uranium enrichment plant.
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, voted twenty five to three with seven abstentions to condemn Iran’s nuclear program. The resolution called for the Islamic Republic to cease their enrichment of uranium and resolve any remaining questions about its nuclear activities. Additionally, the resolution reads that Iran must open its facilities to further inspection and to provide assurances that it is not operating any secret nuclear research sites.
Iran’s decision to build ten new plants sparked controversy throughout the Western world. The White House released a statement saying that this action was “yet another serious violation of Iran’s clear obligations.” Great Britain’s government reacted similarly, announcing that news of Iran’s actions was “a matter of serious concern” and was possibly a “deliberate breach of five UN security council resolutions.” Iran, however, claims that their actions are peaceful and allowed under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
According to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, if Iran builds ten additional nuclear plants the country would have enough uranium to produce twenty thousand megawatts of electricity within six years. However, Iran’s capability of accomplishing such a goal has come into question. According to Gary Sick, a professor of Middle East studies at Columbia University, given the pace of production and installation of working centrifuges in Iran, the process would both be extremely costly and take approximately twenty to thirty years to complete.
While Sick doubts that Iran has the capabilities to build ten new plants, Ahmadinejad insists that this goal can be accomplished if the new facilities incorporate new, more efficient centrifuges that Iran has not yet employed. The Iranian President insists that “new high-capacity centrifuges have been designed by the Islamic Republic of Iran that can carry out the task in fewer numbers.”
For more information, please see:
Al Jazeera – UN Rebuke ‘Forced’ New Iran Plans – 30 November 2009
Los Angeles Times – Iran Plans 10 More Large Nuclear Plants – 30 November 2009
BBC – Iran ‘Planning 10 New Uranium Enrichment Sites’ – 29 November 2009
Guardian – Iran Defies United Nations With Plans For 10 New Nuclear Plants – 29 November 2009
