The United States has said it was not impressed at all by the latest Iranian claim of progress on its nuclear programme, saying the “hyped” move was calibrated mostly for the domestic audience.
“One thing is absolutely clear, Iran is clearly feeling the pressure of its international and diplomatic isolation of the increasing economic pressure on it,” the State Department spokesperson, Ms Victoria Nuland, told reporters.
The Iranian President, Mr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, yesterday unveiled on state television what was described as Iran’s first domestically produced, 20-per cent enriched nuclear fuel for Tehran’s research reactor (TRR).
“With regard to this news about activity at that reactor, we frankly don’t see a lot new here. This is not big news. In fact, it seems to have 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,” Ms Nuland said.
The Iranian reaction is part of a piece of that pressure which it is facing now, she said.
“I would also note there was a very sizeable and forcible crackdown on peaceful protest inside Tehran yesterday, large-scale cut-offs of the Internet over the last couple of days, and they continue to keep major opposition figures under house arrest,” she said.