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Iran Claims 17 KG Uranium Enriched to 20 Percent

   VOA News 23 June 2010

Photo: AP

   In  this  photo  released  by  the semi-official Iranian Students News
   Agency  (ISNA),  the  reactor building of Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power
   Plant  is  seen, just outside the port city of Bushehr 750 miles (1245
   kilometers) south of the capital Tehran, Iran, Monday, Nov. 30, 2009.

   Iran's  atomic energy chief says his country has enriched 17 kilograms
   of  uranium  to  20  percent  purity, as the United Nations and others
   increase  sanctions  against the country to pressure it to curtail its
   nuclear program.
   Ali  Akbar  Salehi  told  the  Iranian  Students  News  Agency  (ISNA)
   Wednesday  that the country has the capacity to produce five kilograms
   of  20-percent-enriched  uranium a month.  But he says Iran will only
   make  as much as needed for a medical research reactor in the capital,
   Tehran.
   The  announcement  comes  a  day  after  senior  U.S. officials said a
   lengthening  list  of  sanctions  against  Iran's  nuclear program has
   prompted  private  companies  to begin to cut their business ties with
   Tehran.
   Western powers are concerned that Iran is seeking to enrich uranium to
   a  purity  high  enough  to make nuclear weapons, which experts say is
   around 90 percent.
   Stuart  Levey,  a  top Treasury Department official, said Tuesday that
   new  U.N. sanctions, together with unilateral measures proposed by the
   United  States, the European Union and others, are effectively cutting
   Iran off from the global economy.
   Levey  said  companies across a range of sectors (including insurance,
   consulting,  energy and manufacturing,) are beginning to emulate major
   financial  institutions  that  have  either  cut  off  or dramatically
   reduced their ties with the Islamic Republic.
   He  said  the  private  sector  plays  a key role in building pressure
   against  Iran  because voluntary actions "amplify the effectiveness of
   government-imposed measures."
   The  draft  legislation  being  considered  by the U.S. Congress would
   forbid access to the U.S. financial system for all foreign banks doing
   business with key Iranian institutions or its Revolutionary Guards. Â
   The  proposed  sanctions also would exclude from U.S. markets entities
   involved in selling refined petroleum products to Iran.
   The  legislation  must pass both houses of Congress to become law.  A
   vote  in  the  House  of  Representatives is possible as early as next
   week.

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