The US wants the UN to impose sanctions on Iran
over its alleged nuclear weapons programme, says Secretary of State
Colin Powell. He was speaking after a report by the UN nuclear agency
said Iran planned to test a facility that could convert raw uranium
into weapons-grade material. Mr Powell said the US wanted the issue to
be referred to the UN Security Council for action. Tehran insists the
only purpose of its nuclear programme is power generation. The
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report said Iran wants to
turn 37 tonnes of raw "yellow cake" uranium into uranium hexafluoride
which can be used to produce enriched uranium by spinning it in
centrifuges. This can in turn be used to generate power or for nuclear
warheads, depending on the level of enrichment. But the document said
Iran did not appear to be operating or installing centrifuges. [more ]
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