Iran announces batch of higher enriched uranium

AP: Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi says his country has produced five kilograms of 20 percent enriched uranium, a move in open defiance of the U.N. demands to halt the controversial program. The Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi says his country has produced five kilograms of 20 percent enriched uranium, a move in open defiance of the U.N. demands to halt the controversial program.

Iran says it needs the material for a medical research reactor, and the level of enrichment is far below the more than 90 percent pure uranium needed to build a nuclear weapon. But U.S. officials have expressed concern the process could be a step toward greater enrichment.

The U.S. and its allies accuse Iran of seeking to build a nuclear weapon, a claim Iran denies.

In a report Wednesday, the ISNA news agency quotes Salehi as saying that Iran will need 1.5 kilograms of 20 percent enriched nuclear fuel each month to run the research reactor.