Frustration builds over Iran's nuclear intransigence

Iran came under increasing international condemnation yesterday – including from allies Russia and China – after announcing it enriched uranium for the first time, but it insisted it will push ahead to dramatically expand the program that the United Nations had demanded it scrap.

Russia and China have been Iran’s top defenders at the UN Security Council, resisting pressure to slap sanctions on Tehran for its nuclear program. Both countries repeated their stance yesterday that negotiations were the way out of the stand-off, but their frustration with Tehran was clear.