Wednesday, March 8 2006 18:01 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Vienna: The United States has alleged that Iran has enough uranium gas to make 10 nuclear weapons and has called for new inspections in the Islamic Republic, a diplomat in Vienna told sources today (Mar 08 2006).

A senior US official made the claim at a closed-door meeting in Vienna of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the diplomat said.

US ambassador Gregory Schulte told the IAEA's 35-nation board of governors that Iran had failed on every count to meet the watchdog's call for it to suspend uranium enrichment.

Uranium is enriched so it can be used as fuel in a nuclear power reactor or, if enriched further, to make an atomic weapon.

Schlulte said Iran had 85 tons of the uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas and said this was enough to make 10 atom bombs, the diplomat reported.

He said there now should be special inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities. A copy of his speech was not immediately available.