Intelligence officials from several countries say Iran in recent weeks has virtually completed an underground nuclear enrichment plant, racing ahead despite international pressure and heavy economic sanctions in what experts say may be an effort to give it leverage in any negotiations with the United States and its allies, The New York Times reported Thursday, October 25. The installation of the last of nearly 3,000 centrifuges at the Fordo site, deep under a mountain inside a military base near the holy city of Qum, puts Iran closer to being able to build a nuclear weapon, or come up to the edge, if its leaders ultimately decide to proceed. The United States, Israel and the United Nations have all vowed to prevent that from happening, imposing increasingly tough sanctions on the country. President Obama said last week that the time for a negotiated settlement was “running out.”