Iran defies censure, plans 10 uranium sites

By Parisa Hafezi and Reza Derakhshi

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran announced plans on Sunday to build 10 new uranium enrichment plants in a major expansion of its atomic programme, just two days after the U.N. nuclear watchdog rebuked it for carrying out such work in secret.

The defiant move by hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government will further aggravate tensions between the Islamic Republic and major powers over Iranian nuclear activities.

Analysts said it would accelerate calls for more U.N. sanctions against Iran. One said it increased the chances of military action to halt an atomic programme that Washington and its allies suspect is aimed at building a nuclear bomb, something Tehran strongly denies.

The White House condemned the announcement.

"If true, this would be yet another serious violation of Iran's clear obligations under multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions and another example of Iran choosing to isolate itself," spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement.

"Time is running out for Iran to address the international community's growing concerns about its nuclear program."

Germany expressed "great concern." British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said: "Instead of engaging with us, Iran chooses to provoke and dissemble."

Mark Fitzpatrick, chief proliferation analyst at London's International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the move was a show of Iranian "braggadocio" which made an attack on its nuclear sites more likely.