( dpa ) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's announcement Tuesday that Tehran plans to expand its nuclear work shows the regime is willing to continue defying the international community, the US State Department said.
"They are still in contravention of UN Security Council resolutions, which have called on them to cease and desist these kinds of activities, yet they continue to poke their finger in the eye of the international community," spokesman Sean McCormack said.Ahmadinejad said his country will expand its uranium enrichment programme by at least 3,000 centrifuges, which are used to produce uranium at concentration levels sufficient enough to to produce energy.
Much higher levels would be needed to create weapons-grade material.
Iranian denials that it is seeking nuclear weapons has done little to ease US suspicions that it could use its nuclear know-how to build atomic weapons. The Security Council has enacted three resolutions applying limited sanctions on Iran.
The five permanent members of the Security Council - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - plus Germany will meet next month to to discuss Iran's nuclear activities.
The Security Council resolutions have done little to dissuade Ahamadinejad from moving forward on uranium enrichment. Iran last year expanded the programme to 3,000 centrifuges.