US accuses Iran of 'nefarious' intentions
Following unveiling of new centrifuge for enriched uranium, State Department says if Islamic Republic wants international community to believe its nuclear program is peaceful, 'then Iran has no need for a third generation, or faster, centrifuge'
"If Iran wants the international community to believe what it says, that it has peaceful intentions with respect to its nuclear program, then Iran has no need for a third generation, or faster centrifuge," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.
Crowley said that based on Iran's comments as it unveiled the new centrifuge "we have to conclude that Iran has nefarious intentions in its nuclear program."
He said that in order to strengthen the accusations against Iran, the international community must pay attention to the Iranian statements.
He added, "That's expressly why we continue to work within the international community on additional measures, sanctions to show Iran that there's a consequence for failure to meet its obligations."
Apparently referring to China, which is in favor of a diplomatic solution for the nuclear crisis, Crowley said that if the countries involved in the process had any doubts about what needed to be done, they must all listen to Iran's leaders.
Britain also expressed strong scepticism in the light of Iran's intensification of its efforts to master the nuclear fuel cycle. A British Foreign Office spokesman said: "We have deep concerns about Irans nuclear programme and its failure to reassure the international community that the programme is purely for peaceful purposes."
The comments came as Iran unveiled a new faster centrifuge for enriching uranium, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned major powers mulling fresh UN sanctions that it would not give in to threats.
Ahmadinejad declared there was no way back for Iran's nuclear work despite opposition from the United States and other world powers, though he insisted it had only peaceful aims like power generation.
Iran would remain a nuclear state, he said, "whether enemies want it or not."
Atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi said Iran had successfully tested the new centrifuges which are capable of enriching uranium six times faster than its existing ones at a plant in Natanz, south of Tehran.
Uranium enrichment is the sensitive process that lies at the heart of Western concerns about Iran's nuclear program. The process can produce the fuel for nuclear reactors but in highly extended form can also make the fissile core of an atomic bomb.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
