Iran eyes at least 3,000 centrifuges at nuclear plant

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran is aiming to install at least 3,000 centrifuges at a key nuclear plant, the government spokesman said, confirming Tehran would make a major announcement on its atomic programme next month.

"We are heading towards a production of nuclear fuel that needs 3,000 and even more centrifuges," spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham told reporters on Monday. "Our aim is to ensure our industrial needs."

"We are going in this direction. We are in the process of completing our programme and this will be announced shortly during the 10 days of Fajr," he said, referring to celebrations for the 28th anniversary of the Islamic revolution from February 1-11.

Iran has so far declared the installation of two cascades of 164 centrifuges at the plant in Natanz. The machinery is used to enrich uranium, a highly sensitive process that can be used both to make nuclear energy and a nuclear bomb.