Ahmadinejad: Key Nuke Target of 3,000 Centrifuges Reached

November 7, 2007 · Filed Under World News, nuclear weapons

Iran has achieved a landmark, with 3,000 centrifuges fully working in its controversial uranium enrichment program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Wednesday.

Ahmadinejad has in the past claimed that Iran succeeded in installing the 3,000 centrifuges at its uranium enrichment facility at Natanz. But Wednesday’s claim was his first official statement that the plant is now fully operating all those centrifuges.

Experts say 3,000 centrifuges are in theory enough to produce a nuclear weapon, perhaps as soon as within a year.

Iran says it plans to expand its enrichment program to up to 54,000 centrifuges at Natanz in central Iran – which would amount to the level of industrial-scale uranium enrichment.

-Samantha Giles