Iranian nuclear plant connected to national electric grid

The Bushehr nuclear plant, Iran's first nuclear power plant, was connected to the country's electricity grid on Saturday, the BBC reported. The announcement exacerbates fears that the country is on track to acquiring nuclear weapons.

The United Nations' nuclear watchdog said that international sanctions have done little to thwart Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons, according to a report published Saturday by the International Atomic Energy Agency. According to the IAEA, Iran has also installed new centrifuges at two of its nuclear facilities that are capable of enriching uranium at a rate three times faster than previous ones, as well as at a higher quality.

Western experts have warned that these "new generation" centrifuges are also immune to cyber attacks, like the Stuxnet computer worm, which famously attacked Iranian computers in 2010, temporarily shutting down systems and curbing the nation's nuclear program by what some experts estimated to be at least several years.

The IAEA believes that Iran has begun to install the new centrifuges it manufactured, called IR-2, at the nuclear facility used to enrich uranium in Natanz and in an underground facility in Kom.

Iran’s actions have aroused concern at the IAEA, which has said the increased nuclear activity proves Iran has managed to circumvent the sanctions imposed by the U.N. and several Western countries on its nuclear program.

The IAEA report also said that Iran is carrying out a series of trials in order to fit nuclear warheads onto a variety of missiles.

U.S. government officials responded to the report over the weekend, saying that it reflects increasing concern over Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Western countries and the U.N. have accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons, a charge that Tehran has denied, repeatedly insisting that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

Iran’s envoy to the IAEA, Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh, responded to the report, saying he believes it to be proof of Tehran's cooperation with the agency and its transparency with respect to its nuclear program.

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