Iran plans 'small scale' nuclear fuel work: IAEA

LONDON (Reuters) - The head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, informed his agency's governing board on Tuesday that Iran intends to begin "small-scale" uranium enrichment work, contradicting previous statements by Tehran.

"Iran plans to install a small-scale gas ultracentrifuge cascade in its pilot fuel enrichment plant at Natanz," a Western diplomat said, reading from ElBaradei's report to the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Citing the report, the diplomat said that during its research work on centrifuges -- machines that purify uranium for use in nuclear power plants or weapons -- Iran planned to feed a small amount of uranium hexafluoride into the centrifuges.

A senior Iranian official had earlier denied any suggestion that Iran was resuming the production of nuclear fuel at the Natanz facility in central Iran.