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Iran Claims 17 KG Uranium Enriched to 20 Percent

VOA News
23 June 2010

Iran's atomic energy chief says his country has enriched 17 kilograms of uranium to 20 percent purity, as the United Nations and others increase sanctions against the country to pressure it to curtail its nuclear program.

Ali Akbar Salehi told the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) Wednesday that the country has the capacity to produce five kilograms of 20-percent-enriched uranium a month. But he says Iran will only make as much as needed for a medical research reactor in the capital, Tehran.

The announcement comes a day after senior U.S. officials said a lengthening list of sanctions against Iran's nuclear program has prompted private companies to begin to cut their business ties with Tehran.

Western powers are concerned that Iran is seeking to enrich uranium to a purity high enough to make nuclear weapons, which experts say is around 90 percent.

Stuart Levey, a top Treasury Department official, said Tuesday that new U.N. sanctions, together with unilateral measures proposed by the United States, the European Union and others, are effectively cutting Iran off from the global economy.

Levey said companies across a range of sectors (including insurance, consulting, energy and manufacturing,) are beginning to emulate major financial institutions that have either cut off or dramatically reduced their ties with the Islamic Republic.

He said the private sector plays a key role in building pressure against Iran because voluntary actions "amplify the effectiveness of government-imposed measures."

The draft legislation being considered by the U.S. Congress would forbid access to the U.S. financial system for all foreign banks doing business with key Iranian institutions or its Revolutionary Guards.

The proposed sanctions also would exclude from U.S. markets entities involved in selling refined petroleum products to Iran.

The legislation must pass both houses of Congress to become law. A vote in the House of Representatives is possible as early as next week.