Iran says it has started using its own locally-produced nuclear fuel for the first time.

In an event broadcast live on Iranian state television, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad unveiled what he called the "next generation in Iranian centrifuges". Iran has acquired 3,000 new faster centrifuges, greatly expanding its uranium enrichment capability.

But the US has dismissed the achievements as nothing new. Speaking to reporters, Victoria Nuland, the US State Department's spokesperson, said: "This is not big news. In fact, it seems to be hyped."

Al Jazeera's Rosalind Jordan reports from Washington.