Iran has announced its intention to start processing 37 tons of uranium yellowcake that Western intelligence officials estimate will provide Teheran with enough weapons grade material to build up to five nuclear bombs, the Telegraph can reveal. The decision to begin work on the yellowcake this month was disclosed in a submission last week to officials at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, the international nuclear watchdog.
The agency's governors are due to meet tomorrow to discuss Iran's continuing failure to comply with its obligations to provide a comprehensive and detailed account of its nuclear programme. The Iranians insist that their programme is designed for purely peaceful purposes, but many Western intelligence agencies believe that they have a clandestine operation to build a nuclear bomb. In their submission to the IAEA, details of which will be made public this week, the Iranians claim that they intend to process the yellowcake to provide fuel for new nuclear power stations. Iran is the only leading Opec oil producer to be developing a nuclear energy industry. Intelligence officials fear that the yellowcake will provide Teheran with a vital component in its drive to become a nuclear weapons power.
"This is a classic ploy by the Iranians to conceal their true intentions," said a senior official. "They want to spin out the negotiations in Vienna to cover up the rapid progress they are making on their nuclear weapons programme. They are buying time to string out the diplomatic process." A Foreign Office spokesman said that the Iranians were guilty of "serious obfuscation" and called on Teheran to suspend work immediately. "We are extremely concerned about all aspects of Iran's nuclear programme," he said, "and we call on Iran to suspend all their nuclear activities, including the processing of uranium yellowcake." |