BICOM

Israel’s Defence Minister Ehud Barak said Iran’s latest claim of dramatic advancements in its nuclear programme is exaggerated, but that Tehran’s nuclear pursuit remains a threat. Barak told Israel Radio this morning that the Iranians are “presenting the situation as better than what it really is.” He dismissed as a “show” the broadcast on Iranian state TV Wednesday of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad overseeing what was described as the first Iranian-made fuel rod inserted into a research reactor in Tehran. Barak also said he doubts Iran’s claim that a “new generation” of Iranian centrifuges, used to enrich uranium toward nuclear fuel, had gone into operation.

The US also downplayed Iran’s latest announcement of nuclear progress, saying Tehran’s reported advances were “not terribly new and not terribly impressive…we frankly don’t see a lot new here. This is not big news. In fact it seems to have been hyped,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters. “The Iranians have for many months been putting out calendars of accomplishments, and based on their own calendars, they are many, many months behind,” she said.

Tension between Iran and the West over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme have mounted since November, when the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency said Tehran appeared to have worked on building a nuclear weapon.