Iran unveils faster nuclear centrifuges

Iran unveiled a third generation of domestically built centrifuges today as the country pushed ahead with plans to accelerate a uranium enrichment programme that has alarmed world powers fearful of Tehran’s nuclear aims.

The new machines are capable of much faster enrichment than those now being used in Iran’s nuclear facilities, and Tehran officials praised it as a step towards greater self-sufficiency in the face of international sanctions targeted at choking off the nuclear work.