Vienna: The UN's nuclear watchdog said yesterday Iran had failed to meet a February 21 deadline to suspend enrichment of uranium, exposing Tehran to possible new sanctions over concerns it hopes to produce an atomic bomb.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a report Iran had installed two cascades, or networks, of 164 centrifuges in its underground Natanz enrichment plant with another two cascades close to completion.
This amounted to an effort to escalate research-level enrichment of nuclear fuel into "industrial scale" production.
"Iran has not suspended its enrichment-related activities," said the confidential IAEA report.
By ignoring the deadline, Tehran reaffirmed its rejection of a mid-2006 offer by six world powers of talks on trade benefits provided it halted enrichment, a process that can yield nuclear power plant fuel or bombs.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was "deeply concerned. I urge again that the Iranian government should fully comply with the demands as soon as possible and engage in negotiations with the international community so that we can resolve this issue peacefully."
The report said Iranian workers lowered into the Natanz plant an 8.7-tonne container of uranium hexafluoride gas to prepare to feed centrifuges, which purify the material into power plant fuel or, if refined to high levels, for bombs.
Iran had told the IAEA it intended to have 3,000 centrifuges, divided into 18 cascades, installed and brought "gradually into operation" by May.
The US State Department said that Iran's refusal to comply with UN demands "is a missed opportunity for the Iranian government and the Iranian people".
Deputy spokesman Tom Casey said he was confident that additional sanctions will be approved but he declined to predict what they might be.
Britain said yesterday it would work towards more UN Security Council measures leading to Iran's "further isolation".
Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said Britain remained committed to a negotiated solution and would now consult with its international partners.
