WASHINGTON, April 8 (UPI) -- Time has come for the United States to shift political, economic and military responsibility to Iraq, the chair of a Senate panel said Tuesday.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., opened the Senate Armed Forces Committee during which U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker offered their assessments on security, political, diplomatic and economic fronts.

Petraeus recommended beginning an assessment and evaluation of further reductions in U.S. troop presence after the current drawdown ends this summer.

Levin said an "open-ended pause in troop reductions ... would simply send the wrong message to Iraqi leaders."

Instead, the United States must pressure Iraqis to settle their political differences, pay for their reconstruction and take a lead in conducting military operations.

"Promptly shifting responsibility to the Iraqis for their own future politically, militarily and economically is the best hope for a successful outcome in Iraq and represents finally an exit strategy for most of our troops," Levin said.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., ranking minority member, said a "reckless and irresponsible" troop withdrawal would "constitute a failure of political and moral leadership."

"I do not want to keep our troops in Iraq a minute longer than necessary to secure our interest there," McCain said. "Our goal ... is an Iraq that no longer needs American troops."

Iran says new centrifuges being installed

TEHRAN, April 8 (UPI) -- Iran's president says 6,000 new centrifuges will be operational at a uranium enrichment plant within a year's time.

The installation of the centrifuges began Tuesday, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said while inspecting the Natanz nuclear facility, CNN reported.

"Iran last year installed 3,000 centrifuges and entered the stage of enrichment. And in the current year, new centrifuges will become operational, which is a sign of Islamic Iran's outstanding successes and achievements," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying. He arrived in the city Tuesday to attend a ceremony marking the third anniversary of National Day of Nuclear Technology, the Islamic Republic New Agency, the country's official agency, reported.

Ahmadinejad said other "new achievements" would be announced on state television.

S.F. bolsters Olympic torch security

SAN FRANCISCO, April 8 (UPI) -- San Francisco's mayor said security plans for Wednesday's Olympic torch relay were being updated following tense protests in Europe.

Activists accosted runners in London during the weekend and in Paris Monday, and more trouble is expected when the flame makes its sole North American appearance in San Francisco.

The flame has become a target of supporters of Tibet following Beijing's crackdown on Tibetan separatists.

"I have great expectations that it is going to be a successful event, but I am not naive to the realities of hosting an event where people are very intense on both sides," Mayor Gavin Newsom told the San Francisco Chronicle.

The mayor met with China's ambassador to the United States Monday night to discuss security. No details of the conversations were released. However, the Chronicle said the 6-mile route has already been simplified and plenty of law enforcement will be on hand to prevent disruptions.

Call for boycott mars Egyptian elections

CAIRO, April 8 (UPI) -- The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt said it called for a boycott of municipal elections amid protests and a government crackdown on candidates.

The ruling National Democratic Party of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak runs unopposed for many of the 52,000 seats.

The Muslim Brotherhood had thousands of candidates rejected by the national government placing only 20 candidates on the ballot, the BBC said Tuesday.

A crackdown on opposition groups left many potential candidates behind bars prompting protesters to rip down billboards of Mubarak and torch several buildings during the weekend.

Escalating food costs and declining wages bolstered resentment against the Egyptian government.

The BBC said Cairo was calm Tuesday, but reported opposition leaders said its demonstrators could return to the streets at a moment's notice.

Eight arrested in Fla. YouTube assault

ORLANDO, Fla., April 8 (UPI) -- Florida authorities say they arrested a group of teenagers who had planned to post a video of a beating on YouTube.

A gang of six girls allegedly pummeled another teenager while one of them recorded the incident on a video camera, apparently with plans to place it on YouTube for all to see.

The family of the victim told WFTV-TV, Orlando, the ambush was part of an alleged scheme to humiliate their daughter and cause her physical harm.

The Polk County Sheriff's Department said the six attackers plus two other teens who acted as lookout face charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment and battery.