Iran May Be Enriching Uranium, Diplomats Say
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VIENNA — U.N. inspectors have found enriched uranium in environmental samples taken in Iran, which could mean that Tehran has been enriching uranium without informing the International Atomic Energy Agency, diplomats said Friday.
The diplomats, who asked not to be identified, said initial analysis showed enrichment levels possibly consistent with an attempt to make weapons-grade material.
“The International Atomic Energy Agency has not told Iran about this issue,” Khalil Mousavi, a spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, said later. “As soon as the agency takes a stance on this, then we will announce our stance.”
If Iran, dubbed part of an “axis of evil” by President Bush, has enriched uranium without telling the IAEA, it would deepen U.S. suspicions that Tehran’s nuclear ambitions go beyond its stated aim of using nuclear energy to generate electricity.
The diplomats, however, said the mere presence of enriched uranium in the samples was not solid proof that Iran had done the enrichment itself.
IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei declined to comment.
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