TEHRAN, Dec 1 – Iran said on Tuesday world powers have been overhasty in reacting to Tehran\\\’s decision to build 10 new uranium enrichment plants.
"Officials of some countries have rushed into adopting stances, which is indicative of the fact that they are concerned or angry," said foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast at a news conference televised on state-owned English language Press TV.
"It is natural but Iran has strategic plans for the long term. To meet its needs, we have to plan in advance," he said, indicating the reason for deciding to build the new uranium enrichment plants.
Mehmanparast said Tehran had to take the decision as it has doubts about whether those producing nuclear fuel would deliver it to Iran on time and so the Islamic republic felt it should have the option to make its own.
"If we do not get guarantees (for the delivery of the fuel), naturally Iran will have plans to move towards self-sufficiency. This is nothing unusual," he said.
World powers are angry after Iran announced on Sunday it plans to build 10 new uranium enrichment plants after it was rebuked by the UN atomic watchdog for constructing its second such plant near the Shiite holy city of Qom.
Twenty-five of the 35 members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) voted against Tehran and asked it to freeze the building of the plant.
Iran has been at loggerheads with world powers for several years over its nuclear programme, but relations deteriorated further in the past few weeks when Tehran refused an IAEA-brokered deal to supply it with nuclear fuel for a research reactor.
World powers backed the deal which envisaged Tehran sending in one go its stocks of low-enriched uranium (LEU) abroad for conversion into fuel as required for the reactor.
But Tehran refused it, saying it would send the LEU only when it gets the fuel at the same time within its own borders.
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