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Iran produces first batch of 20% enriched uranium: president
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday that Iran produced first batch of 20 percent enriched uranium."The first batch of 20 percent (enriched uranium) fuel was produced," Ahmadinejad said at a rally in Tehran. "This work (of enrichment) will be continued until the needs of the country are met," he said, adding that "In the future the daily production (of the 20 percent fuel) will be tripled." Denouncing the West's attempts to discourage Tehran from pursuing its plan to enrich uranium to a higher grade, Ahmadinejad said "Some of them said that you don't produce radio medicine. They said that they will sell it to us....(But) we say we will produce the medicine and you buy it from us." "Right now in Natanz (enriching facilities), we have the capability to enrich 20 percent and 80 percent (uranium), but since we don't need it, we don't enrich (to that grade)," he said. Iranian president ruled out the western claims that its nuclear program may end in building the atom bombs. "All of our (nuclear) activities are transparent and under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency," he said, adding that "We don't build bombs....If our nation wants to build bombs, it has the courage to announce it openly and make it with no fear from you." Ahmadinejad, who addressed the rally in the Azadi Square, also enumerated a number of the Iranian government's achievements and enthusiastically denounced the West's policies. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians carrying flags and banners in support of the Islamic regime celebrated the 31st anniversary of Islamic Revolution on Thursday. State television showed the people in Tehran were carrying images of the late Islamic leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and his successor incumbent leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and moving to Tehran's Azadi (liberty) Square. The 1979 revolution ended with toppling the U.S.-backed regime of Shah. Posted by: tipper 2010-02-11 |
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