Iran needs 20 uranium enrichment facilities like Natanz plant

Report: Iran needs 20 uranium enrichment facilities like Natanz plant

TEHRAN, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Iran said that it needs 20 uranium enrichment facilities on the scale of its Natanz plant to fulfill its total electricity demand, Iran's satellite channel Press TV reported Saturday."We are in need of 20,000 megawatts that means 20 (times the amount the) Natanz (facility can produce)," head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali-Akbar Salehi told Press TV on Friday."Now the government has decided to have ten sites with the same size as Natanz; of course, when I say with the same size as Natanz, it is concerning the amount of fuel that is produced, which is about 30 tonnes per year," Salehi said. "Each site will produce 30 tonnes per year which is enough for one nuclear power plant," he added. Salehi also said Iran will not pull out of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) even though the Western countries are trying to force Tehran to withdraw from the treaty. "I think the West is trying to force us out of the NPT, but we have no plans to pull out," he added. On Nov. 27, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors passed a resolution calling for Iran's "full cooperation" to clarify all outstanding issues involving its nuclear program and requiring Iran to stop construction on the newly-disclosed Fordo uranium enrichment facility near Qom. Salehi called into question the "logic" behind the resolution against Iran and maintained that further sanctions could not make the country bow to the Western demands, according to Press TV report. He also advised the West against any confrontation with Iran, which he said could lead to "unknown consequences." As a response to the IAEA resolution, Iran's government on Sunday ordered the country's Atomic Energy Organization to start the construction of five new uranium enrichment sites and will present its proposal for the locations of five others within two months. Western powers have suspected Iran of attempting to build nuclear weapons, but Tehran said its nuclear program was aimed at generating nuclear energy for civilian purposes.