Iranian President Orders Enrichment

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ordered his country's nuclear agency to begin enriching uranium for use in a medical-research reactor, ratcheting up Tehran's defiance over Western demands that it curb its nuclear ambitions.

The statement was carried Sunday on state TV as the country celebrates the 31st anniversary of the Iranian revolution. It came amid a flurry of announcements in which Mr. Ahmadinejad has attempted to project an image of strength, even as the regime faces the threat of further domestic unrest later this week.

It also seemed to contradict Mr. Ahmadinejad's statements last week that Iran was willing to embrace a deal brokered last year by the International Atomic Energy Agency for Iran to ship the bulk of its lower enriched uranium overseas to be further enriched to the 20% purity level needed for its medical reactor.

Speaking at a laser-technology exhibition on Sunday in Tehran, Mr. Ahmadinejad called on Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's atomic agency, who was sitting in the audience, to begin enriching uranium to 20% purity. Mr. Ahmadinejad said Iran "was still open to negotiations on the issue" with the international community, according to state media. Mr. Ahmadinejad and other officials have threatened before to enrich the fuel on their own if a deal with the IAEA fell though.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday he believed there was still time for sanctions to work to halt Iran's nuclear program despite the Iranian president's decision. Asked at a news conference in Rome whether he believed the president's order to produce higher-grade uranium made military action more likely, Mr. Gates said that as long as the international community is able to present a united front, sanctions can still be effective.

"If the international community will stand together and bring pressure to bear on the Iranian government, I believe there is still time for sanctions and pressure to work," Mr. Gates said following meetings with his Italian counterpart. "But we must all work together."

Despite that apparent shift by the Iranian government, Mr. Gates has said he didn't believe the two sides were near a deal, a stance he reiterated on Sunday.

"The international community has offered the Iranian government multiple opportunities to provide reassurance on its intentions," Mr. Gates said. "The results have been very disappointing."

U.S. efforts to rally members of the United Nations Security Council to support new sanctions have run into obstacles in Beijing, where the Chinese government has shown resistance to the plan. Although he didn't single China out by name, Mr. Gates's call for international unity in the face of Mr. Ahmadinejad's decision appeared aimed at Beijing.

"Rather than single any country out, I would simply say I think all of us can do more," he said.

Iran has been convulsed by a series of large-scale, often violent demonstrations following contested June 12 elections. Opposition leaders have hijacked a number of state-sponsored holidays by staging antigovernment protests. They have called on demonstrators to pour into the streets of Tehran and other cities on Feb. 11, the culmination of celebrations marking the anniversary of the founding of the Islamic Republic. Iranian leaders have heightened threats of a harsh crackdown on protests, including hanging two political prisoners late last month and threatening to execute demonstrators who have been detained in earlier antigovernment protests.

At the same time, Iran has appeared eager to flex its muscles on the world stage despite recent threats by the U.S. of economic sanctions. Last week, for instance,Tehran unveiled a series of what it described as breakthroughs in its domestic space program. That worried Western officials, who say satellite technology can be used to develop missile-delivery systems.

"They are sending a clear message that the regime is strong," ahead of Feb. 11, said Mustafa Alani, director of security and terrorism studies at the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center.

Sunday's nuclear announcement is the latest, often-contradictory signal from Mr. Ahmadinejad about Iran's willingness to negotiate with Western capitals over its nuclear program. The Obama administration has warned it will push for tough new economic sanctions if Tehran doesn't make progress in nuclear talks.

For Washington and other Western powers—which worry Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons—the IAEA-brokered deal was seen as a first step in building confidence between the two sides. It would also deprive Iran of enough fissile material to make a bomb, at least for a time. For Tehran, the deal would be a quick way to obtain enough fuel to keep its medical reactor running. (Tehran says its nuclear program is peaceful.) But Iranian authorities never approved the deal and have since insisted on various changes.

Source:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703427704575050883816233458.html?mod=WSJASIA_hpp_MIDDLEThirdNews