NUCLEAR PROGRAM Uranium work will continue in Iran, official says

Activities in central Iran give cause for concern.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran will continue uranium reprocessing despite Europe's threat to refer it to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions if it does not freeze the work within two weeks, a Foreign Ministry official said Sunday.
The Iranian defiance is the latest in its highly charged dispute with the international community over its contentious nuclear program, which the United States alleges is aimed at building nuclear weapons, claims which Tehran denies.
International attention is focused on the Uranium Conversion Facility in Isfahan in central Iran, where Tehran resumed last month activities related to the conversion of uranium concentrate ore -- known as yellowcake -- into hexafluoride gas, the feed stock for enrichment.
Uranium enrichment is an activity of even higher concern for the international community. Enriched to a low level, uranium can be used to produce nuclear fuel used to generate electricity. Further enrichment makes it suitable for use in nuclear weapons.
Suspended in Natanz
Iran says it will not restart uranium enrichment for now in nearby Natanz, where it was suspended in 2003 under a deal with Europeans, but insists it will never again suspend uranium conversion in Isfahan.
Work restarted in Isfahan after Iran rejected a U.S.-backed European package of proposals calling on Iran to permanently stop its uranium enrichment program in return for a supply of nuclear fuel and economic incentives.
Tehran said the proposals were against the spirit of Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and previous agreements between it and the Europeans, which recognized Iran's right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.