(VOVworld) - Iran has conducted "mechanical" tests on a new, advanced machine to refine uranium, said Iranian atomic energy chief Ali Akbar Salehi on Wednesday.
Iran had tested its latest generation of centrifuge, the IR-8, but had not yet fed it with uranium gas, and this may annoy Western states pushing Tehran to scale back its nuclear program.
Iran's development of new centrifuges to replace its current breakdown-prone model is being watched closely by Western officials because it could allow Teheran to amass potential atomic bomb material much faster. Iran and the west are expected to resume their negotiations next month in New York.