Iran has 5000 centrifuges

IRAN has secretly built thousands of centrifuge machines for its nuclear plant at Natanz, an exiled opposition figure alleged overnight.

The claims by opposition figure Alireza Jafarzadeh could not be independently verified, but if confirmed, they would likely enflame the worsening standoff over Iran's nuclear program.

The new allegations came hours after Iran resumed sensitive nuclear research after a two-year suspension, triggering fierce Western condemnation and risking censure by the UN Security Council.

Mr Jafarzadeh, citing what he said was intelligence from the Iranian opposition and sources within the Iranian nuclear program, said Tehran had already committed serious violations before the latest move.

"Iran has already manufactured as many as 5000 centrifuge machines ready to be installed in Natanz, which is a clear breach of its agreements with the IAEA and the EU," Mr Jafarzadeh, former spokesman for the National Council of Resistance of Iran, said.

He said Iran had been continually building underground centrifuge cascade installation platforms at Natanz which could be used in the process of enriching uranium on a large scale suitable for a nuclear bomb.

Mr Jafarzadeh released information in 2002 which amounted to the first outside glimpse into the Iranian nuclear program and which triggered International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) scrutiny.