IRAN is just “months away” from having the capability to enrich uranium for a nuclear bomb, Western diplomatic sources said yesterday.

Through diplomatic man-oeuvring, Tehran had bought time to complete its research on constructing a centrifuge system to produce highly enriched uranium, the sources told The Times.

The Iranians had clearly chosen that track for developing bomb-grade material over creating plutonium from its nuclear reactor facility at Bushehr, they said.

“Iran appears to be further advanced in acquiring the relevant nuclear technology than we had initially thought,” said one British official.

Britain, France and Germany, the three European countries that have sought to defuse the Iranian nuclear threat through negotiation, are now seeking an urgent meeting with the regime in Tehran. The situation was “grave”, said an official.

Tehran has given the impression of conceding to diplomatic pressure by accepting tougher verification controls by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). “But actually they have just continued with the research work and now they are only a few months away from completing the programme,” one source said.

British officials said there were “newly formed” judgments about what Iran was doing, and this had led to the renewed urgency. The evidence was not being made public at this stage, the sour-ces said. “We can’t yet say what we know,” one source said. The IAEA currently has inspectors in Iran, monitoring the Iranian research and development programme which includes constructing thousands of centrifuges for the purpose of enriching uranium.

Iran, as a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, is entitled to develop ways of enriching uranium, provided it is solely for civilian purposes. Tehran insists that it is engaged in a civilian research programme but Washington has accused Tehran of wanting to develop nuclear weapons.

IAEA sources said that the inspectors were watching every move being made by the Iranians and had no evidence yet of an intention to divert material for a nuclear bomb. “Even if they complete the centrifuge technology, it would still take time to spin the material through the system and to make a bomb, and we’re monitoring activities rigorously,” one source said.

Between now and September, there will be a series of choreographed events which will dictate whether Iran is referred to the United Nations Security Council for breaching the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The officials from Britain, France and Germany will meet in the next few weeks, probably in one of the three European countries. Then, next month, the IAEA will publish another report on its findings at the Iranian nuclear sites and in September the IAEA board will hold a full meeting.

“That’s when the board will have to decide whether to hit Iran with a sledgehammer and refer Tehran to the Security Council,” one diplomatic source said.

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