Iran has tested its third generation of enrichment centrifuges, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said on Friday.

According to Press TV, Ali Akbar Salehi said the new centrifuges, each 200 millimeters in diameter, are ten times as powerful as the ones operating at the Natanz uranium enrichment plant.

He said they are capable of spinning 900 times per second and producing 10 kilograms of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) a year.

President Ahmadinejad said 60,000 new centrifuges to be installed at Natanz can fuel six nuclear power plants for a year.

Iran's recent move to begin enriching uranium to 20% sparked a wave of international criticism, with the United States leading calls for new harsher sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Western powers suspect that Iran's nuclear program is aimed at making weapons, while Tehran claims it is pursuing nuclear technology for its civilian energy needs.

Earlier this month, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said any sanctions imposed against Iran over its nuclear program will only increase the Islamic Republic's desire to move forward with uranium enrichment.