US dismisses Iran's uranium claims

The Obama administration on Thursday dismissed Iran's contention that it is enriching uranium at a higher level than before and accused the Iranian government of mounting an unprecedented crackdown on the opposition to quell protests on the anniversary of the Islamic revolution.

Meanwhile, as Iranian security forces fanned out across Tehran to snuff out opposition rallies and police clashed with demonstrators at several sites, U.S. senators introduced legislation that would require Washington to name and impose strict sanctions on human rights violators in Iran.

At the White House, spokesman Robert Gibbs said Iran's leadership has made a series of statements about its nuclear prowess based on politics, not physics. He challenged Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's claim that Iran has produced its first batch of uranium enriched to a higher level than ever before, meaning it may be closer to the producing material to build a nuclear weapon.

"Quite frankly, what Ahmadinejad says, he says many things and many of them turn out to be untrue," Gibbs said. "We do not believe they have the capability to enrich to the degree to which they now say they are enriching."

At the same time, Gibbs and other administration officials said Iran's behavior on the nuclear front was disturbing and in violation of numerous U.N. sanctions. The administration, which on Wednesday slapped new sanctions on affiliates of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, is pressing hard to get fresh penalties imposed on Iran at the U.N. Security Council for refusing to prove its nuclear intentions are peaceful.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said that even if untrue Ahmadinejad's claim "further solidifies our impression and that of the international community that Iran's nuclear intentions are anything but peaceful."

He then lashed out at Iran's treatment of opposition protesters. He said the crackdown, which besides suppression of protests by forces has included shutting down phone systems, internet access and satellite television, amounted to "a near-total information blockade."

"It is an unprecedented and overwhelming step, using force to intimidate their own people and to restrict freedom of assembly and freedom of expression," Crowley told reporters. "It is clear that the Iranian government fears its own people."

On Capitol Hill, senators introduced separate legislation aimed at punishing Iranian officials and others responsible for the crackdown and also promote regime change in Tehran.

Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., introduced the Iran Human Rights Sanctions Act, which would identify human rights abusers in Iran and impose financial and travel restrictions on them.

Sens. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced the Iran Democratic Transition Act, which calls for the U.S. government to support efforts to remove Iran's leadership by providing nonmilitary assistance to opposition groups.

/AP/