Iran resumes N-work, West on short fuse

But the United States and the European Union doubt that Iran’s atomic ambitions are entirely peaceful and are likely to ask for the UN Security Council, which can impose economic sanctions, to take up the matter, Western diplomats said. Western powers had called on Iran to refrain from any work that could help it develop atomic weapons.

‘‘Iran’s nuclear research centres have restarted their activities,’’ Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation, told state television. He said work at the research facilities would be under the supervision of the UN nuclear watchdog.

Saeedi told a news conference Iran had come to an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on what work Tehran would do. He gave no details.

The European Union was quick to denounce Iran’s move. ‘‘This is very much a step in the wrong direction. We are extremely concerned and consultations are taking place (within the EU) to coordinate a response,’’ said Cristina Gallach, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

A spokesman for Britain’s Foreign Office condemned the move, saying it jeopardised hopes of further negotiations. French President Jacques Chirac called on both Iran and North Korea to cooperate with the international community. ‘‘These countries would commit a serious error by not accepting the hand we are holding out to them,’’ he said.

Russia, which is helping Iran build a nuclear power station, said Tehran should abide by international commitments and that its decision to resume research caused concern.

China said it hoped the dispute could still be solved within the IAEA. Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said Beijing backed a renewal of the moribund talks between Iran and the EU.

It is unclear if Iran will test equipment or actually produce small amounts of nuclear fuel in a laboratory environment. The IAEA was unable to provide any details.

One EU and one non-EU diplomat said Iran was planning to get 164 centrifuges running at the Natanz enrichment facility to begin mastering the technique of producing nuclear fuel. Centrifuges enrich uranium by spinning it at supersonic speed. However, such a small cascade would take many years to produce enough bomb-grade uranium for a single weapon.

If enriched to a low level, uranium can be used in powerstations such as the one Iran is building at the southern port of Bushehr with Russian help. If enriched further, it can be used in atomic warheads.

An intelligence source said that Iran intended to feed uranium hexafluoride (UF6) into the cascade at Natanz soon, but had not informed the IAEA about this.