US dismissive of Iran nuclear announcement
Fri, 12 Feb 2010 18:21:23 GMT

The White House on Thursday said Iran's declaration of producing first stock of enriched uranium for a research reactor was based "on politics", and "not on physics."

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday that Iran had produced the first stock of 20 percent enriched uranium at the Natanz enrichment facility.

But White House spokesman Robert Gibbs cast doubt on Ahmadinejad's announcement.

"The Iranian nuclear program has undergone a series of problems throughout the year," Gibbs said. "We do not believe they have the capability to enrich to the degree to which they now say they are enriching."

After potential suppliers failed to provide fuel for Tehran's research reactor, which produces medical isotopes for cancer patients, Iran announced Tuesday it had started enriching uranium to the level of less than 20 percent.

The announcement prompted President Barack Obama to threaten Iran with “significant regime of sanctions.”

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Iran could not wait for Western countries to "waste time" as the Tehran research reactor ran out of fuel.

He said a fuel swap with Western countries did not require Iran to relinquish other ways of supplying the fuel.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118476&sectionid=351020104

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submitted by Iranian Shi'ite

quote from article:

"We do not believe they have the capability to enrich to the degree to which they now say they are enriching."

comment:

If Iran does not have the ability to enrich uranium to 20%, then how in the world does Iran have the ability to enrich uranium to the 98% required for weapons?

From one side of its mouth the USA says that Iran is building weapons (98% enrichment), but from the other side of its mouth the USA is stating that Iran can not enrich to 20% ! ! !