Ahmadinejad: Iran produces first 20 percent-enriched uranium
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Ahmadinejad says first 20 percent-enriched uranium has been produced
- Iran this week celebrates the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution
- Protesters on the streets since disputed presidential polls last June
- Coalition of reformist groups urging people to join non-violent demos
Tehran, Iran (CNN) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday that his country has produced its first 20 percent-enriched uranium in a speech he was giving on the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
Ahmadinejad spoke to a crowd of thousands at Azadi, or Freedom Square, in central Tehran on the anniversary of the revolution, which toppled a Western-backed monarch and transformed Iran into an Islamic republic.
Iran began enriching uranium to 20 percent on Tuesday, state media said. The enrichment was taking place at its Natanz facility, under the surveillance of U.N. nuclear watchdog inspectors.
Uranium enriched to 20 percent is considered "highly enriched," the U.S. National Research Council says on its Web site. That level is the threshold for uranium capable of setting off a nuclear reaction, but Iran insists it needs the enriched uranium from its current 3.5 percent to meet the demands of the country's cancer patients.
Many people attending Ahmadinejad's speech waved flags. Others carried placards bearing the images of the heroes of the revolution.
Bracing for an onslaught of expected anti-government protests, authorities imposed a virtual information blockade and warned that it will arrest and detain demonstrators until April if they take to the streets.
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Pickups roamed the streets of Tehran, blaring pro-government slogans and songs from speakers, a witness said.
Members of the Basij, the paramilitary force loyal to Iran's hard-line leadership, waited outside mosques near Azadi Square to be deployed, opposition Web site Jaras said.
International journalists have been told by the Iranian government that they can report only on Ahmadinejad's speech, and not on developments on the streets, Jaras said.
Iran has imposed tight restrictions on reporters covering the anniversary, forcing media outlets to rely on information provided by witnesses and by opposition and state-run sources.
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The precautions are meant to prevent a repeat of anti-government protests on other key occasions that have embarrassed and inflamed Iranian authorities. Since a disputed presidential election in June, protesters have turned public gatherings into rallies against
Ahmadinejad, who was declared the overwhelming winner of the race.
Police have responded to such demonstrations with mass arrests of protesters they denounce as anti-Islamic and against the revolution.
Undeterred, a coalition of Iranian reformist groups -- the so-called Green Movement -- urged opponents of the regime to come out once again in masses and stage non-violent protests on Thursday.
The government said that, if protesters disrupt state-sanctioned marches, they will be jailed until at least April 9, the end of the Persian holiday of Norooz. The holiday marks the start of spring.
Residents in the Iranian capital said Wednesday that text messages on many messaging services have been blocked and Internet speeds have slowed to a crawl.
The Internet "comes on only a few minutes each day, but you never know when," one Iranian wrote in an e-mail to CNN, which he said took seven hours to send. "This has been going on for more than four days now. I contacted my Internet provider and they said it is out of their control."
"We have heard from users in Iran that they are having trouble accessing Gmail," Google said. "We can confirm a sharp drop in traffic and we have looked at our own networks and found that they are working properly."
Accustomed to such blocks, Iranians have become savvy about alternative links allowing them to get around government filters so they can communicate via e-mail.
"Our phones are strictly followed and controlled," a young Iranian who participated in past protests said by phone from Tehran.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the Iranian said that for the first time the satellite television signals in his neighborhood had been jammed.
Human rights groups and opposition Web sites also have reported widespread arrests targeting journalists.
According to the Paris-based journalism watchdog Reporters Without Borders, at least eight journalists were arrested Sunday and Monday, bringing the total number of reporters now in prison to at least 65.
There were other reports that journalists trying to enter Iran this week have been denied visas by the government. CNN had requested a visa for a correspondent to cover the anniversary events and that application was denied.
Anti-government demonstrations began after the June 12 presidential vote. But late December marked the deadliest clashes since the initial protests broke out last summer. At least seven people were killed and hundreds arrested as they took to the streets on Ashura, which occurred on December 27, witnesses said.
The Iranian government has denied that its security forces killed anyone and has blamed reformists for the violence.
Police arrested 4,000 people in the post-election crackdown.
Two men have been executed for participating in the demonstrations, and 10 have been sentenced to death and await appeal.
CNN's Reza Sayah contributed to this report
