Iran began on Tuesday production of 20%-enriched uranium at the Natanz nuclear facility, the Iranian Fars news agency reported.

A Fars correspondent said production of 20% enriched uranium started at 13:00 local time [09:30 GMT] in the presence of the head of the Iranian nuclear agency, Ali Akbar Salehi, and officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency.

He added that the low-grade uranium had been loaded into centrifuges and would be processed through a number of cascades to become 20% enriched nuclear fuel.

Iran notified the UN nuclear watchdog of plans to produce higher enriched uranium on Monday, saying it could not wait any longer to reach an agreement on international processing of its uranium for a reactor in Tehran.

Iran's defiant move could spur the UN Security Council to agree on a fourth set of sanctions over its nuclear activities, which Western powers fear are aimed at building weapons.

However, Iran has repeatedly said that any attempt by the West to impose new UN Security Council resolutions would not have any effect on Tehran's drive to develop its civilian nuclear program.

MOSCOW, February 9 (RIA Novosti)