| In a fresh display of brinksmanship, Iran on Monday postponed talks with Moscow on a plan to enrich its uranium in Russia to allay concerns it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
Also Monday, diplomats told The Associated Press in Vienna, Austria, that Iran has started small-scale enrichment of uranium. The process is of concern because, depending on the degree of enrichment, the end product can be used for fuel for civilian reactors or nuclear weapons. "Uranium gas has been fed into three machines," one senior diplomat familiar with Iran's nuclear file said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter.
The talks with Russia were scheduled for Thursday but have been postponed indefinitely because of the "new situation," said presidential spokesman Gholamhossein Elham. The "new situation" is language Iran uses for a decision earlier this month by the International Atomic Energy Agency's to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council because of uncertainty about Tehran's nuclear intentions. |