The Iranian Cabinet approved existing plans for five more facilities similar to its current plant at Natanz and ordered planning for five more to begin, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported. The dispatch quoted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying that the new plants will be used to produce fuel for civilian nuclear power stations.

The move comes two days after the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, passed a resolution demanding that Iran stop construction on a previously secret nuclear facility at Qom. The agency also repeated calls for Iran to stop its uranium enrichment program.

The IAEA said it would not comment on Sunday's announcement. But in Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs called the announcement "another example of Iran choosing to isolate itself."

Iran has said its uranium enrichment program is aimed at producing fuel for civilian power plants. But the United States and other countries have accused Tehran of working toward nuclear weapons, and the IAEA's Friday resolution stated that Iran's refusal to comply with international demands "does not contribute to the building of confidence."

Iran says the goal of the plants authorized Sunday would be to produce enough enriched uranium to yield about 20,000 megawatts of electricity a year. Iran currently has one nuclear power plant, which has yet to begin full operation, and announced plans in 2007 to build 19 more.