Iran Faces Nuke Setback, Claims Success

Equipment failures and other setbacks could undermine Iran's efforts to ramp up its nuclear program, the Washington Post reported Thursday. But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a crowd gathered in Tehran for the anniversary of the 1979 founding of the Islamic Republic that his country has enriched uranium to a higher level and is now a "nuclear state," the Associated Press reported. At the gathering, security forces clashed with opposition leaders and protesters. Batons, pepper spray, and paintballs were used against the crowd. The government attacked the opposition online as well, cutting off Web access. Ahmadinejad claimed Iran is not building nuclear weapons—a fact that the United States and other countries dispute.