Wednesday, April 12 2006 10:15 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: The White House today (Apr 12, 2006) criticized the Iranian government after its hard-line president said Tehran had successfully enriched uranium for the first time, a potential step toward securing a nuclear arsenal.

"Defiant statements and actions only further isolate the regime from the rest of the world,'' White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters aboard Air Force One.

In a nationally televised speech, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced the development and insisted that his country does not plan to develop nuclear weapons. He asked the West 'not to cause an everlasting hatred in the hearts of Iranians' by trying to force Iran to abandon uranium enrichment.

That's exactly what the United States hopes to do work with allies to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions.

"This is a regime that needs to be building confidence with the international community,'' McClellan said.

"Instead, they're moving in the wrong direction. This is a regime that has a long history of hiding its nuclear activities from the international community, and refusing to comply with its international obligations,'' he said.

At the Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld said he would not engage in 'fantasy land' speculation about a possible U.S. Attack on Iran, though he said the Bush administration is concerned about Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

"The United States of America is on a diplomatic track,'' Rumsfeld said.