Iran announces uranium finds, days before nuclear talks

Regime identifies sites for 16 more nuclear plants • Tehran declarations constitute psychological warfare against West, says ex-deputy defense minister Ayalon

DUBAI (Reuters) – Three days before resuming talks over its atomic program, Tehran said on Saturday it had found significant new deposits of raw uranium and identified sites for 16 more nuclear power stations.

State news agency IRNA quoted a report by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran that said the reserves were discovered in northern and southern coastal areas and had trebled the amount outlined in previous estimates. There was no independent confirmation.

With few uranium mines of its own, Western experts had previously thought that Iran might be close to exhausting its supply of raw uranium.

“We have discovered new sources of uranium in the country and we will put them to use in the near future,” Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, was quoted as saying at the country’s annual nuclear industry conference.

Former deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon said on Saturday that Tehran’s recent announcements of advancements in its nuclear program are part of a ploy by the Islamic Republic to enter Tuesday’s nuclear talks in Kazakhstan with the P5+1 group of world powers in a position of strength.

“With the upcoming renewal of the dialogue between the P5+1 [the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany] and Iran on neutralizing the Iranian nuclear program, it seems that Iran is trying to raise the bidding price and to enter negotiations from a position of strength,” Ayalon said in a Facebook post. “With this in mind it is possible to understand the latest Iranian declarations on their increased enrichment abilities with advanced centrifuges and declarations on their discovery of uranium deposits in their territory.”

Iran’s declarations were “a negotiating pattern which is

common in the Persian bazaar,” Ayalon said.

He accused the Islamic Republic of trying to carry out “psychological warfare against the West.”

Iran’s behavior “does not signal an Iranian readiness to compromise,” Ayalon said.

He called for “a full embargo” on Iran and said that the military option should be portrayed as an increasingly more likely outcome.

Diplomats say the six powers, known as the P5+1, are set to offer Iran some relief from international sanctions if it agrees to curb its production of higher-grade enriched uranium.

The West says Iran’s enrichment of uranium to a fissile purity of 20 percent demonstrates its intent to develop a nuclear weapons capability.

The enriched uranium required for use in nuclear reactors or weapons is produced in centrifuges that spin uranium hexafluoride gas (UF6) at high speeds. The UF6 is derived from yellow cake, a concentrate from uranium ore discovered in mines.

Iran’s reserves of raw uranium now stood at around 4,400 tons, taking into account discoveries over the past 18 months, IRNA quoted the report as saying.

In another sign that Iran is intent on pushing forward with its nuclear ambitions, the report also said 16 sites had been identified for the construction of nuclear power stations.

It did not specify the exact locations but said they included coastal areas of the Gulf, Sea of Oman, Khuzestan province and the Caspian Sea.

Iranian authorities have long announced their desire to build more nuclear power plants for electricity production. Only one currently exists, in the southern city of Bushehr, and that has suffered several shutdowns in recent months.

The announcements could further complicate the search for a breakthrough in Kazakhstan, after three unsuccessful rounds of talks between the two sides in 2012.

“We are meeting all of our obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and we should be able to benefit from our rights. We don’t accept more responsibilities and less rights,” Saeed Jalili, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, was quoted as telling Saturday’s conference.

In what Washington has called a provocative move, Iran is also installing newgeneration centrifuges, capable of producing enriched uranium much faster, at a site in Natanz in the center of the country.

Western diplomats say the P5+1 will reiterate demands for the suspension of uranium enrichment to a purity of 20 percent, the closure of Iran’s Fordow enrichment plant, increased access for International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors and agreement to address concerns on existing uranium stockpiles.

In return, the latest embargoes on gold and metals trading with Iran would be lifted. Iran has criticized the offer and says its rights need to be fully recognized.

“If the P5+1 group wants to start constructive talks with Tehran it needs to present a valid proposal,” Jalili said. “It needs to put its past errors to one side... to win the trust of the Iranian nation.”

In a statement issued before the Iranian announcement, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said the six-power group wanted to enter a “substantial negotiation process” over Tehran’s nuclear program.

“The talks in Almaty are a chance which I hope Iran takes,” he said.

Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.