Iran Raises Nuclear Stakes

Iran claims to have scaled up its nuclear capability by enriching uranium "on an industrial scale, " the Guardian reports, in defiance of U.S. and U.N. pressure to dimantle the program. The announcement from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad  is sure to heighten conflict with the White House and provide new ammunition for those advocating military action.

His chief negotiator, Ali Larijani, confirmed there are now 3,000 nuclear centrifuges in operation, ten times as many as previously believed and enough to produce material for a warhead within a year. But Michael Levi, of the Council on Foreign Relations, is skeptical. "We have an unfortunate habit to take Iran at its word when they make scary announcements," he tells the AP. (More nuclear proliferation stories.)