Iran Resumes Atom Program

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Ignoring Protests, Iran Resumes Atom Program http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/10/international/10cnd-iran.html TEHRAN, Jan. 10 - Iran resumed a nuclear research program today that it said would include experimenting with enriching nuclear fuel, despite a warning Monday from the head of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency that such work would cross a "red line" and trigger an international response. The seals at a nuclear facility in Natanz were broken in the presence of atomic inspectors, and Iranian officials for the first time outlined the kind of nuclear research the country has in mind. According to a statement issued by the atomic agency, Iranian officials told inspectors that they plan to start up a small-scale centrifuge and do research in which uranium gas would be introduced. Cascades, or series of centrifuges, are used to enrich uranium to levels at which it can be used for reactors or, if enriched to a far higher level, for weapons.