Deadline Passes On Iran's Compliance On Nuke Work

Iran has failed to stop enriching uranium despite a UN deadline calling for a halt to its nuclear programme, the UN nuclear agency says.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said Tehran began a new round of uranium enrichment in recent days.

Six world powers are set to meet next week to decide on the way forward. The US is pushing for sanctions.

A senior Iranian nuclear official said the IAEA report showed Tehran had been co-operating over its nuclear work.

Iran would continue enriching uranium "within the framework of research and under the control of the IAEA", Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's atomic energy agency, said.

'Unsatisfactory'

US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, described the report as a red flag and said it provided ample evidence of Iranian defiance.

Meanwhile, the US and its allies are considering a list of sanctions that could be implemented against Iran. Ambassador Bolton says that they could be implemented without full approval by the Security Council. That would suggest that some the opponents to action on Iran - Russia, China chief among them, would abstain instead of voting against any such sanctions.

Iran intends to continue its nuclear program, which includes enrichment of uranium, and the operation of a heavy water facility. Both processes can result in materials essential to nuclear weapons production.