Iran 'moving towards production of nuclear weapon'

Telegraph

Officials expressed grave concern about activity at the underground site in Qom, where centrifuges are being installed that could enrich uranium to the density required for an explosive device.

A United Nations report to be released next week will reveal details about the Iranian nuclear programme that the Government hopes will persuade doubting nations that Iran is on course to building a bomb and not, as it claims, merely creating nuclear energy simply for civilian or medical needs.

It will be published amid heightened tensions, with Israel's cabinet contemplating a pre-emptive military strike against Iran's nuclear sites and military planners at the Pentagon and Ministry of Defence refocusing their attention on contingency plans for an attack on Iran, following the conclusion of the Nato mission in Libya.

Referring to Qom, a Whitehall official said: "This is the aspect of the programme we are very, very concerned about. We can't see a credible explanation from a civil perspective."

Iran has been forced to admit that it is transferring centrifuges to the site, which was exposed in 2009 after a joint intelligence operation by Britain, France and the United States.

The Iranian nuclear authority said it would triple its capacity to produce 20 per cent enriched uranium at Qom, claiming it would be used for medical isotopes at a research reactor.

But according to Whitehall, the Iranians are proposing to produce four times the amount of isotopes required for the reactor.

"It is a very technical argument, but it is very significant," said an official.

Moving from 20 per cent enriched uranium to 90 per cent, the level required for weapons-grade material, is a relatively quick process. The site is furthermore on a small scale, effectively constructed in tunnels, when civilian centrifuge facilities are invariably housed in spacious facilities to allow maximum production.

"They would have a whole load of uranium at 20 per cent on offer at Qom under a mountain that could be very quickly turned into weapons grade material. We find that extremely concerning and hope other countries understand this," said the official.

Washington is considering a ban on transactions with Iran's central bank, after being infuriated by the revelation of an Iranian plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to the US.

"As a result we have been quick to ramp up efforts," said a US state department official. "We are continuing to seek international support to continue to isolate the Iranian government."

A Western official said the report by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency made a "compelling case" that aspects of Iran's nuclear programme are for "clandestine nuclear purposes".

The report is not expected to conclude firmly that Iran has militarised its nuclear programme, but its factual scrutiny makes no other conclusion possible, according to officials familiar with its findings.

A Western diplomat said that Iran could build a bomb within a year or two, but had crucially not yet made the decision to "break out".