At a conference on Iran's achievements in laser technology, President Ahmadinejad announced that he had instructed the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency, Ali Akbar Salehi, to begin enriching uranium to 20%. He added that Iran had attained laser technology that enabled it to enrich uranium to any level, but that at present there was no intention to use this technology. About the uranium exchange deal with the West, he said that this option was still on the table, as long as the deal involved no preconditions.
For previous Iranian statements regarding achievements in the field of laser enrichment, see MEMRI Blog report, March 3, 2007.
Source: Fars, ILNA (Iran), February 7, 2010
