Iran: Advanced enrichment centrifuges installed

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran said yesterday it has begun installing a new generation of centrifuges at its main uranium enrichment facility, a move that, in defiance of UN calls to halt such activities, will allow it to vastly increase its pace of uranium enrichment.

Vice President Fereidoun Abbasi told the official IRNA news agency that the machines will produce only low-level enriched uranium, which is used to make nuclear fuel; high-level enrichment makes it suitable for use in the core of a nuclear weapon.

Abbasi said Iranian scientists began installing the advanced centrifuges at Natanz a month ago. "We've produced enough of these machines and are installing and starting them up gradually," he said.

The announcement coincided with a new round of talks yesterday with senior International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors over allegations that Tehran might have carried out tests on triggers for atomic weapons. State media said the talks ended late in the day but didn't provide any further details. It also could affect negotiations planned later this month between Iran and six world powers. -- AP