International Reactions to Iran's Nuclear Pronouncements

On April 11, Iranian officials began to make public statements detailing Iran’s achievements and future plans for its indigenous uranium enrichment program. The gist of these and later proclamations was: Iran has operated its first gas-centrifuge “cascade,” comprising 164 centrifuges, and has achieved a 3.5% uranium enrichment in this cascade; Iran plans to construct, as a first stage, several cascades totaling some 3000 centrifuges; Iran plans to construct a full-scale, 54,000-centrifuge uranium enrichment plant; Iran is developing and testing the next-generation P-2 centrifuge; Iran has accumulated some 110 tons of uranium hexafluoride – the feed stock for the centrifuges; and Iran will not reverse course or heed the international calls to renew the suspension of its enrichment program.