Nuclear Watchdogs Slam Iran

SHANNON, Ireland — The United States, the European Union and the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog condemned Iran on Saturday for deciding to resume a production process that could make purified uranium for an atomic bomb.

They urged Iran, which says its nuclear ambitions are peaceful, to rethink its decision to produce parts again for centrifuges that can purify uranium.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, said he hoped Iran’s move was temporary.

But a joint U.S.-EU statement stopped short of threatening new action to punish Iran for breaking a deal it had struck with Britain, France and Germany.

The statement said “the U.S. and EU were disturbed by Iran’s recent announcement of its intention to resume manufacturing and assembly of centrifuges.”

In the first Iranian reaction to the EU-U.S. statement, a state-appointed newspaper editor hinted that the country might consider pulling out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.