Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
TEHRAN, Iran – On Friday April 9 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad unveiled new advanced centrifuge that will help accelerate the Islamic Republic’s uranium enrichment program. The unveiling of new machines has alarmed world powers including the United States who were were already fearful of the aims of Iran’s nuclear program. The centrifuges were unveiled by the Iranian President during a ceremony marking Iran’s National Day of Nuclear Technology as Ahmadinejad pulled back a white curtain to reveal the new machines.
The new, advanced centrifuge machines are capable of much faster uranium enrichment that the centrifuges currently being used in Iran’s nuclear facility. Iranian nuclear officials have praised the advancement as a step toward greater self-sufficiency. The officials are concerned that the nuclear program will suffer from the new nuclear sanctions targeted at ending all uranium enrichment activity in the Islamic republic. President Ahmadinejad has repeatedly insisted that the program only has peaceful aims such as power generation.
The details of the centrifuges were explained by Iranian official Ali Akbar Salehi in his National Day of Nuclear Technology speech. Salehi explained that the centrifuges have the separation power six times that of the first generation centrifuges Iran currently uses. He explained that experts from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran managed to design the new centrifuges and that they had passed several mechanical tests.
President Ahmadinejad’s announcement came as members of the United Nations Security Council was discussing a new round of sanctions against Iran. The rationale for the sanction is Iran’s continued refusal to halt uranium enrichment. Ambassadors from the five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany all announced that the talks were productive. The ambassadors did also confirm that the meetings would continue in the coming weeks. China has been under increased pressure from the other Security Council to support the new sanctions despite their public objections.
The UN’s nuclear arm, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), announced in a February 2010 report that Iran had achieved enrichment levels of up to 19.8%. The report also spoke that the number raised concerns of the “possible military dimensions” of the Iranian nuclear program.
For more information, please see:
Associated Press – Iran Unveils More Advanced Centrifuge Machines – 9 April 2010
BBC – Iran Unveils ‘Faster’ Uranium Centrifuges – 9 April 2010
Washington Post – Iran Displays New Centrifuge For Nuclear Work – 9 April 2010
