Iranian Atomic Energy Organization chairman Reza Aghazadeh said that at "Natanz, over 5,000 centrifuges are in operation, and in the next five years Iran must install another 50,000, in order to produce 30,000 tons of nuclear fuel annually."

He said that Iran had been operating for a long time in the path of fusion, and that today there are "large-scale" projects in this sphere.

He rejected Western claims that Iran has no need to enrich uranium in such quantities because it has no reactors requiring such fuel.

He added that the construction of the heavy water plant with a 40  megawatt output (for plutonium production) at Arak were progressing, and that the first phase of fuel rod and nuclear fuel production would be operational within the next few months, as would be the fuel  manufacturing plant (FMP) that would meet the needs of the Arak plant.

Nuclear expert David Albright, who handled the Iran dossier in the U.N., said that Iran needs 6,000 centrifuges to produce a bomb.

Sources: Tehran Times, Iran, November 27, 2008; ISNA, IRNA, Iran, November 26, 2008