Iran has once again set the cat among pigeons.

In an apparent snub to the United Nations Security Council, Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that his country had begun industrial-scale nuclear fuel production.

Addressing a gathering on Monday at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, Iran's main publicly known nuclear site, Ahmadinejad said, "I proudly announce that as of today Iran is among the countries that produce nuclear fuel on an industrial scale."

The President said Iran had installed 3,000 centrifuges at an underground facility, which would allow the country to produce nuclear fuel on an industrial scale. "This nuclear fuel is definitely for the development of Iran and expansion of peace in the world," he added.

However, the United States feels otherwise. US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack on Tuesday said, "Iran's actions are such that the UNSC and the IAEA don't believe Iran's assurances that their nuclear programme is peaceful in nature."

Image: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressing the gathering at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, some 300 km south of capital Tehran on Monday.
Photograph: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images