Friday, February 17 2006 13:03 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Tehran: Iran confirmed today (Feb 17 2006) it has injected gas into centrifuges, a crucial step in the process of uranium enrichment, a high ranking official told state television.

"Yes, we have injected UF6 gas into a limited number of centrifuge machines, but it is even less than what is needed for a pilot project," said Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, the head of Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation, without elaborating on the exact number of the centrifuges involved.

"To get enriched uranium with 3.5 per cent purity, you need to employ 164 machines, and I should say we are not at that stage yet. It could take several months for us to reach that point," he added.

He added that all the components in Natanz facilities were Iranian made and that Iran is not afraid of being sanctioned or even attacked militarily since "all the technology is indigenous."

Aghazadeh reiterated that Iran does not intend to leave the non-proliferation treaty, and that its nuclear sites are still open to inspection by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Asked about a Russian proposal which calls for Iran to conduct sensitive uranium enrichment only on Russian soil, he replied: "No country that has the know-how of a technology would deprive itself from using it, nonetheless we are ready to negotiate the proposal."

In response to the possibility of sanctions after Iran's nuclear case is referred to the UN Security Council, Aghazadeh said: "In the past 27 years we had experienced many kinds of sanctions."