Rafsanjani Iran to double atomic centrifuges-paper

KUWAIT, Apr 12 (Reuters) Iran will double the number of centrifuges in use to enrich uranium from the current 164 as the next stage in its nuclear programme, former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said in remarks published today.

Iran announced yesterday that it had produced its first batch of enriched uranium, in defiance of a UN Security Council demand that it halt all enrichment work. The United States, Russia and the EU swiftly condemned Iran's move.

Tehran says it only wants to produce enriched uranium suitable for atomic power reactors and will not use the technology to make bomb-grade, highly enriched uranium.

''Our next step is to add another centre that contains 164 instruments (centrifuges) and then link them with the old equipment to increase the production capacity so that this centre is transformed into a big industrial site,'' Rafsanjani told Kuwaiti daily al-Rai al-Aam.

''But currently, the centre operates now at the level of laboratories and research,'' he said in the interview conducted in Tehran yesterday, without giving a timetable for the expansion plans.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared yesterday that Iran had produced its first enriched uranium from a cascade of 164 centrifuges at its Natanz facility and would now press ahead with industrial-scale enrichment.

Rafsanjani said a peaceful solution of Iran's nuclear rift with the West was still possible.

''This issue has become difficult and complex and has turned from a regional into an international issue especially as it has found a foothold at the Security Council ...'' he said.

''But if these people are honest and strive to build trust, then matters can be settled easily. We are willing to eliminate their fears and to provide confidence-building measures and to give assurances on the peaceful nature of our activities.

''But if they continue with their pretexts, and try to put pressure on us through our nuclear activities, then matters will become difficult and thorny for everyone, not just Iran,'' Rafsanjani added.

Iranian officials have alluded to Tehran's ability to stir up trouble in regional hotspots such as Iraq and disrupt oil supplies from the Gulf if pressed too hard by the West over its atomic programme.

REUTERS SI PM1719