IRAN: Iran has begun processing a new batch of uranium at its Isfahan nuclear plant despite US and European pressure to halt all sensitive nuclear work, a diplomat said yesterday.
"Conversion has resumed," the diplomat, who is close to the International Atomic Energy Agency, said. A spokesman for the UN nuclear watchdog confirmed that IAEA inspectors were in Isfahan.
Meanwhile, former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said a purge of former government officials was damaging national unity and could exacerbate foreign pressure on the state.
His comments follow a massive shake-up of government personnel since president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office in August.
"A current in Iran is trying to banish competent officials and it is harming the country like a plague," Mr Rafsanjani told a gathering of Friday Prayer leaders. "We must be careful." - (Reuters)