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NUKEWARS
Iran to unveil nuclear 'achievements' Wednesday
by Staff Writers
Tehran (AFP) Feb 14, 2012


'Decision' on Iran imminent: Russian army chief
Moscow (AFP) Feb 14, 2012 - The head of Russia's army said Tuesday he expected a "decision" on Iran to be taken by Western powers this summer in response to Tehran's disputed nuclear programme.

"Iran, of course, is a sore spot. Some sort of decision on it should be taken soon. It will probably be taken closer to the summer," Chief of Staff General Nikolai Makarov was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency.

Makarov provided no further comment and it was not immediately clear if he was referring to possible military action or future sanctions.

Russia has backed four rounds of United Nations sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme amid growing international concern that it was pursuing military aims. But Moscow has sternly warned against using military action.

Russia last month accused Western powers of trying to "suffocate" the Iranian economy and incite popular discontent with new sanctions such as the impending oil embargo by EU states.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is to unveil several unspecified nuclear "achievements" on Wednesday, his government's website said.

"Several completed nuclear projects will be unveiled tomorrow in the presence of the president," the official website said on Tuesday.

"Experts believe these achievements will show the world the extraordinary capability and knowledge of Iranians."

It added that the progress will underline Iran's scientific adherence to "nuclear power for all and nuclear weapons for none," the website said.

The announcement confirmed a vow made by Ahmadinejad on Saturday to inaugurate "important nuclear projects" within "days," in a speech marking the anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution.

Iran's progress in its nuclear programme has deeply unsettled the West and Israel, which see it masking a drive for atomic weapons. A report by the UN nuclear watchdog in November also expressed strong suspicions in that sense.

Tehran, though, has repeatedly said its nuclear activities are exclusively peaceful in nature.

The international showdown over Iran's nuclear programme has deepened in recent months, with the United States and the European Union slapping unprecedentedly tough economic sanctions on the Islamic republic to pressure it to halt its activities.

Israel has threatened to possibly unleash air strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, while the United States has intimated it, too, could take military action if it thought it necessary.

Iran has reacted defiantly, beginning uranium enrichment in a fortified bunker under a mountain in Fordo, near the holy city of Qom, and promising soon to insert its first domestically made nuclear fuel plates into its Tehran research reactor.

It has also claimed to be ready to resume stalled talks with world powers over its nuclear programme but has yet to formally reply to a letter sent by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton nearly four months ago offering negotiations.

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