Britain joins U.S.-led nuclear power club

The U.S. suspects Iran's nuclear programme is aimed at making nuclear weapons. Tehran says it only wants nuclear power is not on the waiting list to join GNEP.

Algeria and Saudi Arabia, which have also shown an interest in nuclear power as a way of boosting oil exports, are not lining up to join the group. Italy, where nuclear power has been outlawed since the late 1980s, joined last November.

Senegal in west Africa became the 20th member of the group at the start of February, while Canada, the Republic of Korea, Australia, Bulgaria, Ghana, Hungary, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, and Ukraine joined last year.

Other candidate or observer countries include Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Mexico, Morocco and Turkey.

(Reporting by Daniel Fineren, editing by Anthony Barker)