Iran is today facing increased sanctions after announcing plans to enrich uranium to a higher level than ever before.

The decision to raise enrichment levels to 20 percent– from the current level of 3.5 percent – has been met with anger by world leaders and non-proliferation campaigners.

Tehran told the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Monday that it wants the enriched fuel for a research reactor that produces isotopes for medical use. The move comes a week after the country agreed in principle to send its uranium abroad.

U-turn
This isn’t the first time President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad’s regime has U-turned on the issue, according to Mike Fitzgerald of the International Institute for Strategic Studies:

“They’ve changed their position so many times now, that what was to have been a confidence-building measure has had the opposite effect. In a negotiation, if one side keeps changing its position, the other can’t know how to take its word.”

Listen to the interview with Mike Fitzgerald:

Iran said during talks last October that it was prepared to export the bulk of its uranium to France, which would enrich it to 20 percent before returning it as fuel rods. That deal is very unlikely to be resurrected, says Fitzgerald.

“Another provocation”
Uranium must be refined to 90 percent in order to be used in nuclear weaponry. However, analysts say the leap from 20 percent is minimal, and have dismissed Iran’s claim it will use the uranium for fuel, saying it doesn’t have the required technology.

Mike Fitzgerald said: “By enriching to 20 percent, Iran is most of the way to having fissile material for a nuclear weapon. For a nuclear weapon you need about 93 percent and it sounds like 20 percent is quite far from that, but the way enrichment works is, by the time you get to 20 percent actually you’ve done most of the work…. It’s another provocation on Iran’s part.”

Serious consequences
The question for Iran now is how the international community will react. But all the signs point to the implementation of additional sanctions.

French Defence Minister Hervé Morin said on Monday that Tehran’s change of tack would have serious consequences for the country.

A spokesman for the German government said: “The statements… of the Iranian leadership… demonstrate, in our opinion, that Iran apparently continues to refuse to accept the offer of the IAEA and is not prepared to cooperate. The German government continues to support a twin-track approach: making Iran an offer if it agrees to cooperate with the demands of the international community and, on the other hand… increasing pressure through sanctions.”