MSNBC News Services – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday that Iran’s assertion it has enriched uranium will require “strong steps” from the United Nations Security Council.
Rice said the announcement from Tehran was further proof it was not adhering to requirements already set out by the international community.
“I do think the Security Council will need to take into consideration this move by Iran,” Rice said at the State Department. She urged that when the council reconvenes it take “strong steps to make certain (to) maintain the credibility of the international community.”
Rice’s comments ratchets up earlier U.S. pressure, as well as that from Russia and the European Union, in condemning Iran’s assertion that it had enriched uranium in defiance of a U.N. demand, though Moscow said force could not resolve the dispute.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared on Tuesday that Iran had enriched uranium for the first time and would now press ahead with industrial-scale enrichment. His triumphant announcement keeps the Islamic Republic on a collision course with the United Nations and with Western countries convinced that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, not just fuel for power stations as it insists.
In a nationally televised ceremony, he said the country’s nuclear ambitions are peaceful and warning the West that trying to force Iran to abandon enrichment would “cause an everlasting hatred in the hearts of Iranians.”
Iran intends to move toward large-scale uranium enrichment involving 54,000 centrifuges, the country’s deputy nuclear chief said Wednesday, signaling its resolve to expand a program the international community has insisted it halt.