The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency said during a visit to Tehran on Thursday that inspectors took samples to confirm that Iran had enriched uranium to 3.5 percent, a low level used to fuel nuclear-power stations.
The collection of samples is part of a routine verification process in nuclear inspection.
Hoping to help Iran avoid a confrontation with the West, Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the agency, held talks with Iranian officials Thursday at the start of a visit intended to persuade Iran to take measures to reassure the international community, including the suspension of uranium enrichment until “outstanding issues are clarified.”
But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad set the stage for the visit by declaring earlier Thursday that Iran would refuse to talk with ElBaradei about its right to perform enrichment, and he lashed out again at Western critics.
“Our answer to those who are angry about Iran obtaining the full nuclear cycle is one phrase – we say: Be angry and die of this anger,” he said in comments to the IRNA news agency in Iran.
With nationalistic fanfare, Ahmadinejad announced Tuesday that Iran had joined the group of nuclear nations after enriching uranium to 3.5 percent at the laboratory level and said Tehran was determined to develop its nuclear program on an industrial scale.
“I cannot confirm that,” ElBaradei said, when asked about the enrichment.
“Our inspectors have taken samples,” he said in remarks that were reported by news agencies after he held talks with Iranian officials. “They will report to the board.”
Iran tried to use the announcement to political advantage and position itself as having accomplished a step in its nuclear program that was unstoppable, despite Western pressure to suspend it.
ElBaradei held talks Thursday with Ali Larijani, the chief nuclear negotiator. IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told CNN in an interview broadcast from Teh ran that no commitments to suspend enrichment were made by Iran “at this point.”
Iran’s announcement brought criticism from several Western nations, and to a lesser degree from Russia and China. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called for “strong steps” against Iran and for the U.N. Security Council to take action when it convenes again on the issue.
The White House has asserted that Iran is secretly trying to develop fuel for nuclear weapons and said after Ahmadinejad’s remarks on Tuesday that Iran was “moving in the wrong direction.” Iran contends that it has the right to pursue a nuclear program that it says is for industrial purposes.
Western nuclear analysts said Tehran lacked the skills, materials and equipment to make good on its immediate nuclear ambitions. The U.S. government has estimated that Iran could develop a nuclear weapon in five to 10 years, and some analysts have said it could come as late as 2020.