Isfahan, Iran -- Iran Thursday declared major advances in its controversial atomic drive as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad opened a nuclear fuel plant and announced the testing of two high capacity centrifuges.

Ahmadinejad's announcements at a function in central Isfahan province marking national nuclear day are likely to trigger fresh concerns among world powers, who fear Iran's nuclear programme is aimed at making atomic weapons.

Tehran insists its programme is for peaceful purposes only.

Ahmadinejad said Iran has notched up two achievements -- the manufacture of nuclear fuel and "testing of two kinds of new centrifuges having greater capacity (to enrich uranium) than the existing ones."

He was speaking after cutting the ribbon at the fuel facility in Isfahan, which the Iranian news agency Mehr said can produce 10 tonnes of nuclear fuel annually to feed the heavy water 40-megawatt Arak reactor as well as 30 tonnes for light water reactors such as the Bushehr nuclear plant.

The fuel for Bushehr plant has to meet Russian technical specifications as the plant has been constructed by Moscow and will be initially operated by Russian engineers.

The opening of the fuel plant indicates that Iran has mastered the complete nuclear fuel cycle from uranium mining to enrichment, even as world powers urge the Islamic Republic to halt its programme completely.

"Today the nuclear fuel cycle has been practically completed and there is no room for the idea of halting (uranium) enrichment in the negotiations" with global powers, the head of Iran's parliamentary commission of national security and foreign policy, Alaeddin Borujerdi said after the plant was opened.

Speaking at the same function as Ahmadinejad, Iran's atomic chief Gholam Reza Aghazadeh said Iran has reached a "new phase (generation) of acquiring the technology of uranium enrichment."

"Today in Natanz there are around 7,000 centrifuges installed," he told the gathering. On February 25, he said Iran had 6,000 centrifuges installed at the uranium enrichment facility in Natanz in Isfahan province.

In its February 19 report, the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency said 3,964 centrifuges were actively enriching uranium in Natanz.

It said another 1,476 were undergoing vacuum or dry run tests without nuclear material, and an additional 125 centrifuges had been installed but remained stationary.

Uranium enrichment is at the heart of global fears that Iran is secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons, because the process can be used both to make nuclear fuel and the fissile core of an atom bomb.

World powers fear that Iran could configure the Arak plant in such a way that it can be used to help make an atom bomb, but Tehran says the reactor is planned to make isotopes only for agricultural and health purposes.

Iran has defied five UN Security Council resolutions calling for a freeze in its enrichment activities, including three resolutions imposing sanctions.

In a bid to defuse tensions, six world powers led by Washington on Wednesday invited Iran for direct talks on the programme.

In a joint statement, the United States, Britain, Russia, China, France, and Germany said EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana has been tasked to invite Iran for direct talks on its nuclear plans.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington will participate fully in the talks.

"There's nothing more important than trying to convince Iran to cease its effort to obtain nuclear weapons," Clinton said.


Comment: Of course there's no credible evidence that Iran is trying to construct nuclear weapons. Nations all over the world have nuclear power plants, without necessarily having nuclear weapons. Didn't we hear this sort of brouhaha from the US in the run-up to the Iraq War in 2002 and 2003? How credible did that turn out to be? The reality is that Iran is surrounded by US forces based in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the US is keen to demonize Islam - and indeed anyone who stands up to American aggression. Who stands to gain from this? Israel, for one - whose arsenal of absolutely real nuclear weapons and Jericho ballistic missiles is completely ignored by the US. What hypocrisy!


During his speech Ahmadinejad said the talks should be based on mutual respect.

"No free man will accept one-sided or conditional talks under intimidatory atmosphere," he said.


Comment: Exactly.


"The Iranian nation has always been ready for talks. We welcome change... we think the time for big change has come."

Earlier Thursday, presidential advisor Ali Akbar Javanfekr said Tehran will study the "constructive proposal" from the six world powers which "shows a change of approach (from the world powers)."

"We hope that this proposal means a change of approach to a more realistic attitude. The Islamic Republic of Iran will examine (it) and give its response."