TEHRAN: Iran’s nuclear chief says his country will begin construction of a new uranium enrichment plant by March of next year, a defiant announcement days after the UN approved tougher sanctions.
Ali Akbar Salehi is quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying construction will start by the end of the Iranian calendar year in March.
Iran’s government has approved plans for 10 new enrichment facilities that can process uranium gas into fuel for nuclear power plants. The US and other nations fear Iran’s expansion of the technology because it can also be used to make material for nuclear warheads. Iran denies such an aim.
The UN Security Council on Wednesday passed a fourth sanctions resolution meant to curtail Iran’s nuclear activity.
Meanwhile, Iran’s opposition leader pledged on Saturday to continue the struggle against the government, even though the mass protest on the anniversary of last June’s disputed presidential election has been called off.
Mir Hossein Mousavi said the opposition will “continue our peaceful methods” to resist a government it decries as fraudulent. But the leader’s subdued tone also reflected the movement’s indecisiveness and powerlessness in the face of a violent government crackdown. Mousavi and another top opposition figure, Mahdi Karroubi, on Thursday called off the plan to take to the streets on the anniversary of the June 12 balloting, citing fears of violence and concerns for the lives of the protesters.
