U.S. expects to learn more on Iran's nuclear achievements from IAEA

Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 16 / Trend S.Isayev/ The activities at the Tehran research reactor remain under IAEA safeguard, and we expect to learn more from the IAEA inspectors who are currently on the ground in Iran, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said at the daily briefing in Washington. Nuland was commenting on yesterday's ceremony in Iran, where country's latest achievements in nuclear sphere were unveiled. According to Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Mohammad Abbasi, the three new achievements of country's nuclear program were: the increased number of centrifuges, production of new IR-4 generation centrifuges and successful loading of domestically-made fuel rods into the nuclear reactor. "Iran is clearly feeling the pressure of its international and diplomatic isolation of the increasing economic pressure on it, unprecedented sanctions which are growing that the international community is continuing to strengthen," Nuland added. Nuland said that the news about activity at that reactor has been "hyped". "The Iranians have, for many months, been putting out calendars of accomplishments, and based on their own calendars, they are many, many months behind. This strikes us as calibrated mostly for a domestic audience." Iran says its nuclear program is confined to production of peaceful atomic energy which it says is a fundamental right of any country. Western nations and Israel have charged that Tehran is secretly working to build nuclear weapons - an assertion Iran vehemently denies. Tensions in the region over Iran's nuclear activities have been on the rise in recent months as speculation has mounted that Israel may be preparing for a strike on Iranian facilities that the Jewish state says constitute a threat to its national security. Ahmadinejad and other top Iranian officials have said they are prepared to return to international talks about their nuclear program provided Iran is treated with respect. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az