Nuke claims lift chance of conflict

Tehran – The chances of conflict in the Middle East increased yesterday as Iran defiantly trumpeted its latest nuclear advances and new evidence emerged of its involvement in this week’s terrorist attacks on Israeli diplomats.

The developments are likely to strengthen the hand of Israeli hawks who favour airstrikes within months to thwart Iran’s alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons, although the government in Tehran did offer to resume longstalled negotiations yesterday.

‘‘Iran is undermining the stability of the world,’’ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told parliament.

‘‘Nations of the world must . . . draw a red line against this Iranian aggression.

‘‘Aggression like this, if it is not stopped, will spread like a storm.’’

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended a televised ceremony to unveil Iran’s first domestically produced nuclear fuel rods for its research reactor.

He said Iran had added 3000 state-of-the-art centrifuges to its Natanz facility, making 9000 in total and tripling Iran’s ability to enrich uranium to 20 per cent – one step short of weapons-grade material.

‘‘The era of bullying nations has passed,’’ Ahmadinejad said.

‘‘The arrogant powers cannot monopolise nuclear technology. They tried to prevent us by issuing sanctions and resolutions, but failed,’’

The announcements seemed designed to demonstrate that Iran had mastered the nuclear fuel cycle and no longer required outside help.

They also sent a defiant message to the world that it is determined to continue its nuclear programme despite sanctions that are playing havoc with its economy.

Western governments played down the news, saying they did not amount to major breakthroughs.

The United States State Department said they were ‘‘not terribly new and not terribly impressive’’, while a British Foreign and Com- monwealth Office spokesman noted that ‘‘Iran has made similar claims before’’.

But the announcements will reinforce the belief of Israeli hardliners that sanctions alone will not deter their arch-enemy from pursuing nuclear weapons, increasing the likelihood of airstrikes even at the risk of provoking a regional war. Israel and Iran are already engaged in a vicious shadow conflict, with evidence emerging yesterday that Iran was behind this week’s attempted attacks on Israeli diplomats in Delhi, Tbilisi and Bangkok.

Iran has denied responsibility, but most analysts believe that the attacks were retaliation for the killings of four Iranian scientists in the past two years, which Iran has blamed on Israel.

In a surprising move given the regime’s rhetoric yesterday, Saeed Jalili, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, wrote to European Union foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton of Upholland expressing a willingness to restart negotiations with six world powers.

Those talks with the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany broke down 13 months ago over Iran’s refusal to discuss its nuclear programme, its insistence on its right to enrich uranium and its demand that sanctions be lifted.

Western diplomats were studying the letter last night, and did not dismiss it out of hand. But they are wary of Iranian ploys to buy more time to pursue the nuclear programme.

Iran insists the programme is for peaceful purposes only – the Tehran research reactor produces medical isotopes.

Nuclear experts say that Iran’s centrifuges are now producing more enriched uranium than that reactor could ever need.

In November, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) produced evidence that the programme was for military purposes only. Last month the regime barred an IAEA team from visiting a facility in Parchin, near Tehran.