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Iran Nuclear Talks Lag, with Status of New Centrifuges Another Hurdle
(New York Times) Michael R. Gordon and David E. Sanger - A dispute over what limits should be placed on the development of new types of centrifuges has emerged as a major obstacle as negotiators try to work out an initial accord on Iran's nuclear program, Western officials said on Thursday. The U.S. is worried that allowing the Iranians to perfect more sophisticated centrifuges would make it far easier for Iran to make a dash for a nuclear bomb. Iranians had told the U.S. that the second generation centrifuges they have developed are about three to five times more efficient than the first generation models they are using. Other issues that have not been settled include how many years an agreement would be in effect and what monitoring would be put into place when it expired. France wants the agreement to last for 15 years and then be followed by 10 years of stringent monitoring measures, a Western official said.