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Toyota said it was pulling 437,000 Prius (pictured) and other hybrid vehicles from the road

TOKYO (AFP) - Toyota said Tuesday it was recalling hundreds of thousands of hybrid vehicles globally, including its best-selling Prius, plunging it deeper into crisis as lawsuits in the United States piled up.

Toyota, facing a barrage of complaints ranging from unintended acceleration to brake failure, is scrambling to reassure drivers it did not sacrifice safety in its successful drive to be the world's largest automaker.

But in another heavy blow to its brand image, long synonymous with reliability and quality, Toyota said it was pulling 437,000 Prius and other hybrid vehicles from the road to repair a flaw in the braking system. Related article: Toyota to suspend output of two hybrids

The company is now recalling almost 8.7 million vehicles around the world -- far more than its entire 2009 global sales of 7.8 million vehicles.

Toyota "will do everything in our power to regain the confidence of our customers," its president Akio Toyoda said at a news conference, offering yet another apology to customers for the technical troubles.

The Toyota family scion, under fire for his handling of the crisis, said he planned to travel to the United States to explain the safety woes, but will not personally attend a US congressional hearing on Wednesday.

Toyota is facing a raft of lawsuits in the United States. In one of the latest, a California woman is alleging her Prius has severe braking problems which make it dangerous to drive.

Lawyers for the plaintiff are pursuing what is believed to be the first class-action lawsuit over the faulty Prius brakes, which would add to legal troubles Toyota faces over the accelerator problems. Related article: Toyota recall raises questions about computerized cars

The company is pulling roughly 223,000 hybrid vehicles in Japan and about 147,500 in the United States due to a problem with the anti-lock braking system, in a recall that also extends to Europe and other markets.

The move covers the newest petrol-electric Prius as well as the plug-in Prius, the Sai sedan and the Lexus HS250h. It will suspend sales in Japan of the Sai and Lexus HS250h while it develops a fix for those vehicles.

Drivers "can experience reduced braking performance resulting in increased braking distance", the automaker said in a statement.

The Prius is the world's most popular hybrid, beloved by Hollywood stars and environmentalists alike, and its troubles are a major setback to Toyota's efforts to stay ahead in fuel-efficient automobiles.

©AFP / Toru Yamanaka

Toyota "will do everything in our power to regain the confidence of our customers," Toyoda said

Favoured by celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz and Britain's Prince Charles, nearly 1.5 million Prius vehicles had been sold in 40 countries as of August 31.

The Japanese maker has said it redesigned the anti-lock braking system for Prius cars produced since last month.

It says a delay occurs when the vehicle switches to the conventional hydraulic brake from regenerative braking, used by hybrids to capture the energy of the car's motion to recharge the battery for its electric motor.

The brake trouble comes on top of recalls of more than eight million vehicles worldwide due to sticking gas pedals that have been blamed for a number of fiery crashes, some deadly. Related article: Toyota dealers pull ads from US TV network

The group has denied it was slow to act on the safety problems.

But Toyoda was publicly rebuked by Japan's transport minister, who said the company should have been quicker to recall vehicles with a brake flaw.

"I wish you had taken measures earlier rather than simply saying it was not a major technical problem," Seiji Maehara told Toyoda in front of reporters.

©AFP/Graphic

Graphic showing how hybrid cars utilise a power switching mechanism to save energy

Earlier in the day, the Toyota boss denied the company had become overly complacent as it overtook General Motors to take the global pole position.

"I don't think Toyota is an almighty company. We are confident that we've been making improvements when we spotted a failure or defect to provide better products. We will continue this attitude in the future," he said.

The company received a US report of a sticky gas pedal on a Tundra pick-up truck in 2007 but said it was unable to pinpoint the cause.

Toyota has said it expects the gas pedal-related recalls alone to cost it about two billion dollars in recall expenses and lost sales. But analysts warn the bigger impact could be to its reputation in the long term.

The credit rating firm Moody's said that it had put Toyota on review for a possible downgrade, warning that the auto giant's worldwide recalls "may significantly damage" its brand image.

©AFP/File / Atta Kenare

The US and France said they will push for "strong" new sanctions against Iran

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran announced on Tuesday it has begun work to enrich uranium to 20 percent, dismissing warnings of new sanctions from world powers who suspect the sensitive nuclear project is aimed at making a bomb.

The announcement sent alarm bells ringing in the West, with the United States saying it added urgency to its efforts to clinch new sanctions against Tehran.

"From today we have started the 20 percent enrichment... in Natanz," Iran's atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi told the official IRNA news agency.

Experts say that once Iran enriches uranium to 20 percent, it can then proceed to the 93 percent needed to produce nuclear weapons since the technology is the same.

Russia, Iran's long-time nuclear partner, questioned its intentions.

"Iran's decision to start its own enrichment of uranium... heightens doubts on the sincerity of Iran's intentions to end the international community's existing concerns" over its nuclear programme, a foreign ministry statement said.

Earlier, news agencies quoted Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Russian national security council, as saying: "Iran claims it is not trying to acquire nuclear weapons.

©AFP/File / John MacDougall

A spokesman said Amano "reiterated the agency's readiness to play an intermediary role"

"But actions such as starting to enrich low-enriched uranium up to 20 percent raise doubts in other countries and these doubts are fairly well-grounded."

In Paris, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, winding up a visit to France, said Washington is now aiming for a fresh UN sanctions resolution against Iran in "a matter of weeks, not months."

"(Gates) thinks that we need it and that we can do it in that time," Morrell added. "In all his meetings he discussed this sense of urgency."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added to the clamour, calling for immediate "crippling sanctions" against arch-foe Iran.

The UN nuclear watchdog said a team of its inspectors was in place to monitor the stepped-up enrichment work.

"I can confirm that officials are there in Natanz today," said a spokesman for the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). "What they find and assess will be reported to the board."

©AFP/Graphic

Graphic on the process of enriching uranium to convert it into nuclear fuel

Iran has conducted low-level enrichment of uranium in the central city of Natanz for several years, in defiance of three sets of UN sanctions.

Western powers suspect Tehran is enriching uranium to make atomic weapons as the material in highly purified form can be used in the fissile core of a nuclear bomb. Iran says its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.

Salehi in his announcement said the project involved the use of 164 centrifuges, which rotate at supersonic speed to enrich uranium.

Iran move raises 'doubts' on nuclear intent: Russia

"This can make between three to five kilograms (6.5 to 11 pounds) of 20 percent enriched uranium per month for the Tehran reactor," he said of Iran's internationally supervised facility which produces medical isotopes.

Enrichment is the process to boost the percentage in uranium of the uranium-235 isotope, which splits in a chain reaction and releases energy.

China urges more talks

The West is trying to convince Iran to sign on to an IAEA-brokered deal that envisages it being supplied with fuel for the Tehran reactor in exchange for its low-enriched uranium (LEU).

The deal has hit a roadblock as Tehran, despite saying it is ready "in principle" to agree, insists that not all its LEU be shipped out at once as world powers demand.

Israel PM for crippling Iran sanctions

Foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast on Tuesday left the door open for a deal, saying the stepped-up enrichment did not preclude a swap.

"If other countries or the IAEA meet our needs, maybe we can change our approach... The door is not closed yet. Any time they (world powers) are ready, this (fuel deal) can be done," he told reporters.

Salehi too reiterated on Tuesday that "Iran is ready for the unconditional exchange. If this deal takes place in time we are ready to stop this process (20 percent enrichment)."

US says Iran sanctions resolution likely in weeks

©AFP/File / Atta Kenare

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak urged "decisive and permanent sanctions" against Iran

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu meanwhile will visit Iran next week in an attempt to find a diplomatic solution. "The proposal is still valid... We believe there is still an important chance" for peace, he said in Ankara.

China also expressed hopes that the impasse can be resolved.

"We hope the relevant parties will exchange views on the draft deal on the Tehran research reactor and reach common ground at an early date which will help solve the issue," foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in Beijing.

Related article:Iran capable of enriching uranium