Iran defies West to resume uranium conversion
Work restarted at the conversion facility in central Iran quickly after inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog finished installing surveillance equipment.
The move came a day before the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation board of governors is to hold an emergency session to discuss Iran’s nuclear program that was expected to produce a sharply worded warning to Iran. The agency could then refer the issue to the UN Security Council, which has the power to impose economic sanctions.
European negotiators and the United States have said they would likely recommend that the IAEA act against Iran if work at Isfahan resumed.
The IAEA, meanwhile, said work had resumed at Isfahan before the surveillance equipment had been tested to ensure it was operating properly.
Iran had suspended work at the plant and its other nuclear facilities in November to avoid sanctions and as a gesture in negotiations with France, Germany and Britain, which are acting on behalf of the EU.
The Europeans have been trying to persuade Iran to sharply limit its nuclear
operations, which has raised concerns in the West since it was revealed that some parts of the program had been hidden from IAEA
inspectors for years. But Iran on Saturday rejected an EU proposal for it to curtail the program in return for economic incentives.
The US accuses Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, while Iran insists its programme aims only to produce electricity and says it has the right to develop the entire nuclear fuel cycle.
Europe fears that Iran will also secretly produce material for bombs.
