Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated its first nuclear fuel manufacturing plant on Thursday and disclosed that it was running around 7,000 centrifuges at its uranium enrichment facility.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (C) waves as he poses with officials outside a nuclear fuel manufacturing plant during its inauguration ceremony in Isfahan, Iran, on April 9, 2009. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated its first nuclear fuel manufacturing plant here on Thursday. [Xinhua]

Ahmadinejad said that Iran has tested "two new kinds of centrifuges with capacity several times greater than the existing ones."

An Iranian engineer of the fuel manufacturing plant told Xinhua that "the totally domestically constructed plant will produce 40 tons of nuclear fuel."

Ten tons of the fuel in the form of pellets would be sent to Iran's Arak Heavy-Water Site to be utilized in the heavy-water research reactors, and the rest would be used in the country's Bushehr Power Plant, he added.

At the same time, Iran's nuclear chief Gholam Reza Aghazadeh said here on the occasion of Iran's National Nuclear Day that Iran was running around 7,000 centrifuges at its Natanz uranium enrichment facility.

Photo taken on April 9, 2009 shows Iran's nuclear fuel manufacturing plant in Isfahan, Iran. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated its first nuclear fuel manufacturing plant here on Thursday.[Xinhua]

The country has utilized the new generations of centrifuges in Natanz establishments, he said.

Iran's nuclear program is questioned by many parties. The United States and other western countries claim that Iran intends to secretly develop nuclear weapons, and the UN Security Council also requires Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activity.

US President Barack Obama, in his speech before cheering crowds in Prague, said the United States would present Iran with a clear choice" to cease its nuclear and ballistic missile activities or face increased isolation.

"Now, Iran's leaders must choose whether they will try to build a weapon or build a better future for their people."

Iran, however, insists that its nuclear plan is only for peaceful purposes, and continues its uranium enrichment activity despite pressure and sanctions from western countries.

(Xinhua News Agency April 10, 2009)