Sunday, 25 October 2009IAEA inspectors check in at Vienna's International Airport on their way to Iran, 24 Oct 2009A team of U.N. inspectors is heading to Iran to visit a recentlyrevealed nuclear site. International Atomic Energy Agency experts willexamine an unfinished uranium enrichment facility near the holy city ofQom to verify it is for peaceful purposes.
Iran'sEnglish-language Press TV reports that International Atomic EnergyAgency inspectors are beginning a three-day visit to Iran, Saturday, toexamine the country's Fordoo nuclear enrichment facility.
Existenceof the underground facility - first revealed in September - raisedinternational suspicion over the extent and aim of the country'snuclear program.
US President Barack Obama warned Iran, at thetime, that it would face "increased pressure" if it failed to revealall of its nuclear activities.
The Iranian News Network (IRINN)says that the UN inspectors will spend two or three days in Iran tocomplete their inspections of the new facility, which is still underconstruction.
The Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, AliAkbar Salehi, says that Tehran is allowing the UN inspectors to visitthe Fordoo enrichment facility to "prove Tehran's good will" and toreassure the world community of its "peaceful nuclear activities."
Iran'sprimary nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz has continued to operatesince 2007, despite sanctions by UN Security Council.
IAEA chiefMohammed al-Baradei rebuked Iran for not disclosing the existence ofthe Fordoo plant. The international community is worried that Tehran isplanning to install a new generation of sophisticated centrifuges toenrich uranium at a much faster pace.
The US and other Westernpowers are wary of Tehran's nuclear intentions, and suspect that Tehranultimately intends to produce nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies.
Friday,Tehran delayed its response to a proposal made by the US, France andRussia to further enrich Tehran's existing stockpile of low-gradeuranium.
Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Asgar Soltaniyeh,told Iran's Press TV that Tehran will respond to the offer, next week,but that Tehran also expects the world powers to examine its owncounterproposals for enriching uranium:
"We are also waiting forthe other parties to study our proposals and to reflect the results oftheir evaluation," he said. "At the same time, we have, in fact,started studying the draft proposal, and we are in fact working andelaborating on all details of these proposals, from technical aspectsand all other dimensions, and I will inform the director general of theIAEA next week, as soon as I'm back to Vienna, about our evaluation."
U.S.officials indicated that they're prepared to wait a few more days foran Iranian response to the nuclear proposals, but that the Obamaadministration expects concrete action and does not have unlimitedpatience.
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Sunday, 25 October 2009
VOA News
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