U.S. sees 'troubling' Iran nuclear moves, urges steps by Tehran

Iranian President-elect Hassan Rohani speaks with the media during a news conference in Tehran June 17, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Fars News/Majid Hagdost

VIENNA | Wed Sep 11, 2013 2:30pm EDT

VIENNA (Reuters) - The United States said on Wednesday it saw "troubling developments" in Iran's nuclear program and called on the country's new president to take concrete steps soon to ease concerns about Tehran's aims.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, has pledged to smooth Iran's relations with world powers to help ease stringent international sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic over its atomic activities.

U.S. Ambassador Joseph Macmanus said Washington was ready to work with the new Iranian government "to reach a diplomatic solution that will fully address the international community's concerns" about Iran's nuclear program.

"We are hopeful that the Rouhani administration will live up to its assurances of transparency and cooperation by taking concrete steps over the next several months," he told the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"We are mindful of this unique moment, and urge Iran to take the steps necessary to allay international concerns about the nature of its nuclear program," Macmanus said, according to a copy of his speech.

Iran says it is enriching uranium only for civilian energy and medicine. The West suspects the program is covertly oriented towards developing the capability to make nuclear weapons.

Macmanus noted that Iran had further expanded its uranium enrichment capacity by continuing to install both advanced and first-generation centrifuges, calling these steps "concerning escalations of an already prohibited activity".

Iran is also making further progress in the construction of a reactor, Arak, that can yield plutonium for bombs, including putting the reactor vessel in place and beginning to make fuel, he said. "All of these are troubling developments," he said.

(Reporting by Fredrik Dahl; editing by Andrew Roche)

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Lindsay Lohan moves to NY to stay sober

Lindsay Lohan has swapped Los Angeles for New York in order to maintain her sobriety.
The 27-year-old actress - who has just completed a court ordered 90-day rehab stint for substance abuse issues after pleading no contest to charges of lying to police about driving during a car crash in June 2012 - is determined to change her ways and believes New York will provide less temptation than Los Angeles.
A source told RadarOnline: 'Lindsay is doing so well, she's back in New York City and is trying to figure out where she is going to live and what she is going to do next. But she is clean and sober now and she's planning to stay that way.
'Lindsay loves to go out to clubs in New York but this time she's saying that she's serious about just working and not getting in trouble again.'
While the 'Canyons' actress wants to get her own apartment, she is currently living with her mother Dina and working on repairing her fractured relationship with her father Michael.
The insider added: 'Lindsay hasn't made any real plans about where she is going to live long term. She likes living on her own but also likes living with Dina. She is enjoying spending time with her family now.
'Michael doesn't want to be a part of her business life, he just wants to be Lindsay's dad and a dad with all of his kids.'

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