Iran expands nuke tech in bid to make weapons

The UN atomic agency on Wednesday detailed rapid Iranian progress in two programs that the West fears are geared toward making nuclear weapons, saying Tehran has upgraded its uranium enrichment facilities and advanced in building a plutonium-producing reactor.

The UN atomic agency on Wednesday detailed rapid Iranian progress in two programs that the West fears are geared toward making nuclear weapons, saying Tehran has upgraded its uranium enrichment facilities and advanced in building a plutonium-producing reactor.

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In a report obtained by AP the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tehran had installed close to 700 high-tech centrifuges used for uranium enrichment, which can produce the core of nuclear weapons.

It also said Tehran had added hundreds of older-generation machines at its main enrichment site to bring the total number to more than 13. Iran denies that either its enrichment program or the reactor will be used to make nuclear arms.