Nuclear research resumes in Iran

WASHINGTON — Iran on Tuesday resumed nuclear research that will include enriching small amounts of uranium, a process used to make nuclear weapons, defying calls by the United States, Europe, Russia and China to maintain a freeze.

Iran's move raised the likelihood that the International Atomic Energy Agency will report Iran to the U.N. Security Council for violating the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the keystone of the global system to halt the spread of nuclear weapons.

The Security Council can slap economic sanctions on Iran, an approach long favored by the Bush administration. The IAEA, the international nuclear monitoring body, says Iran has failed to disclose all aspects of its nuclear program, which relied on an international black market.

Iranian leaders apparently are gambling that Russia and China will veto any U.S.-led drive for U.N. sanctions. Both China and Russia have substantial financial interests in oil-rich Iran.

Iran insists its program is for civilian purposes. The Bush administration charges it is developing a nuclear arsenal.

"If the regime in Iran continues on the current course and fails to abide by its international obligations, there is no other choice but to refer the matter to the Security Council," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

Iran's resumption of nuclear research was a "very, very ominous move," German Foreign Minister Franz-Walter Steinmeier said in Berlin.

Germany, France and Britain led a European negotiation seeking to persuade Iran not to continue with uranium enrichment and to agree to safeguards that would ensure that its program couldn't be used for military purposes.

Iran suspended its nuclear-fuel research in November 2004 as it pursued the negotiations with the three European countries.

Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of international affairs of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, was quoted by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency as saying Iran is resuming research and will not produce uranium fuel.

"We differentiate between nuclear fuel production with research and access to technology," he said.

The IAEA has said that while it has found no evidence of a secret Iranian nuclear-weapons program, it can't certify that its program is only for civilian purposes.

Despite Iran's defiance, Russia and China remained reluctant to take the matter to the Security Council, said a U.S. official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.