The crackdown comes as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has announced Iran has produced its first stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium. Declaring Iran a “nuclear state,” Ahmadinejad addressed a large rally earlier today.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: “I would like to say to you that the day before yesterday the enrichment of fuel at 20 percent started. I would like to notify you and announce with a clear, loud voice that, thank God, our chief nuclear negotiator announced that the produce of fuel at 20 percent started under the watchful eye of our scientists.”

Despite Ahmadinejad’s claims, the Washington Post reports UN inspectors have concluded Iran is experiencing major setbacks in its uranium program. Production has dropped at Iran’s main uranium enrichment plant, near the city of Natanz, over the past year. UN officials say the plant’s output was so poor that it may have been sabotaged. Several analysts have also cited the failure of Iran’s dated centrifuges at a faster rate than expected.