VIENNA, 10 July 2007 — Iran has slowed down but not frozen the expansion of its nuclear enrichment capabilities at its strategic plant in Natanz, UN nuclear chief Mohamed El-Baradei said yesterday. He said he hoped the slowdown could lead to a diplomatic breakthrough in the international confrontation over Iran’s disputed nuclear work.
“We have seen a fairly slow development in commissioning new cascades,” Baradei told reporters, referring to the installation of centrifuges which enrich uranium into fuel for civilian reactors or, in its highly refined state, atom bomb material.
Baradei has called on Iran to freeze new enrichment work, holding it at current levels, in return for the United Nations holding off on new sanctions against Iran for its failure to heed UN Security Council calls for it to halt all enrichment work.
