Iran used stocks of high-quality uranium gas from China to hasten a breakthrough in enrichment for a program the West fears could be hiding nuclear weapons work, diplomats said.
"The Iranians have sought to accomplish a technological achievement for political purposes and chose the Chinese feedstock gas because of its quality, which ensures a better [uranium] enrichment process," a diplomat with access to intelligence sources said.
The diplomat, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, said Iran had "wanted to declare it had done uranium enrichment and were in a hurry," as they wanted to have a fait accompli before the UN Security Council could move against them once an April deadline fell.
The Security Council had given Iran until April 28 to halt enrichment, which makes fuel for nuclear power reactors but can also produce the raw material for atomic bombs.
A second diplomat said Iran had indeed used uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas supplied by China to feed a 164-centrifuge cascade, or array of machines, that enriches uranium.
But the diplomat said Iran had also tried out some of its own UF6, which intelligence sources say is believed to contain contaminants that can cause centrifuges to crash.
Although Iranian UF6 has gotten better, the Iranians are "trying to create facts on the ground that are not there," non-proliferation analyst David Albright said. He said the Iranians have not yet mastered enrichment and still "have a lot of tests to do."
The Iranians "did not use their own UF6 because they wanted to be completely sure" they could turn out enriched uranium in time, the first diplomat said.
Iran defied the Council's calls, and the world body is now deadlocked over whether to issue a resolution that would legally oblige Iran to stop uranium enrichment.
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday ridiculed an EU plan to offer trade and technology incentives in exchange for an agreement to halt the highly strategic enrichment work.
Iran suspended enrichment-related work as part of talks with the EU since October 2003 on guaranteeing that its nuclear program is peaceful, but began making UF6, which is processed from uranium ore, again last August when talks broke down.
Since September, Iran has made some 100 tonnes of the gas, according to a report of the UN watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
If the entire quantity were enriched, it would yield enough material for about 20 atom bombs, Albright said from his IISS think-tank in Washington.
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