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TEHRAN, Iran
-- Iran said Wednesday it has almost doubled its stockpile of uranium
that the country began enriching to higher levels earlier this year in
defiance of U.N. demands to halt the program.

Nuclear chief Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi said Iran now has 30
kilograms, or about 66 pounds, of uranium enriched to 20 percent -
almost twice the amount reported in June.

The 20 percent level is enough to produce fuel for a medical research
reactor but far below the more than 90 percent enriched uranium required
to build fissile material for nuclear warheads.

However, U.S. officials have expressed concern Iran may be moving closer to the ability to reach weapons-grade level.

Iran's refusal to stop enriching uranium lies at the heart of its
dispute with the West over Tehran's nuclear program. Iran insists on its
right under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to enrich uranium and
produce nuclear fuel, and has vowed never to give up the program.

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