A senior US envoy accused Tehran's leadership Wednesday of hypocrisy for opting to pursue "ever more dangerous nuclear technology" instead of accepting an international plan meant to assure the supply of medical isotopes to Iranian cancer patients. The sharp criticism from Glyn Davies, the chief US delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency, came a day after Iran began enriching its uranium to a higher level, increasing international concerns about its nuclear aims.
"Why is Tehran gambling with the health and lives of 850,000 Iranian cancer patients in pursuit of ever more dangerous nuclear technology?" asked Davies. On Wednesday, Iranian Vice President Ali Akhbar Salehi said the process of higher enrichment was going smoothly while insisting that Iran was ready to stop any time it received the needed amount of 20-percent enriched uranium from abroad.