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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jul/11/iran-nuclear-weapons-uranium-production
Iran's Nuclear Threat Is Escalating
(Guardian-UK) British Foreign Secretary William Hague - On 8 June, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Fereydoun Abbasi Davani, announced plans to triple Iran's capacity to produce 20% enriched uranium, making even clearer the fact that Iran's nuclear program is not designed for purely peaceful purposes. Since civilian nuclear power stations need uranium enriched to about 3.5% for fuel, plans to enrich any further rightly prompt questions. Enrichment from natural uranium to 20% is the most time-consuming and resource-intensive step in making the highly-enriched uranium required for a nuclear weapon. When enough 20% enriched uranium is accumulated, it would take only two or three months of additional work to convert this into weapons-grade material.