Tehran, October 4
UN experts will inspect Iran's newly disclosed uranium enrichment plant on October 25, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear agency chief said today, praising a shift “from conspiracy to cooperation” in Tehran's dealings with the West.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (R) with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohammed ElBaradei in Tehran on Sunday. — AFP

The underground nuclear fuel facility near the holy Shi'ite city of Qom had been kept secret until Iran disclosed its existence last month, setting off an international furore.

Iran agreed with six world powers — the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — in Geneva on Thursday to allow IAEA inspectors unfettered access to the plant in central Iran.

“IAEA inspectors will visit Iran's new enrichment facility, under construction in Qom, on October 25,” IEAE chief Mohammed ElBaradei told a joint news conference with Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi. “It is important for us to have comprehensive cooperation over the Qom site ... It is important for us to send our inspectors to assure ourselves that this facility is for peaceful purposes.”

The West suspects the Islamic state is covertly seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Iran insists it needs the nuclear technology to generate power to meet booming domestic demand.

Disclosure Dispute

ElBaradei said the IAEA and Iran disagreed over the timing of the disclosure of the pilot enrichment plant.

“Iran should have informed the IAEA the day they had decided to construct the facility," he said, referring to an IAEA transparency statute that was tightened in 1992 to require immediate notification of planned nuclear facilities.

Thursday's talks in Geneva are expected to win Iran a reprieve from tougher UN sanctions, although Western powers are likely to be wary of any attempt by Tehran to buy time to develop its nuclear programme.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili said the outcome of the Geneva talks was "agreement over the manner of continuing talks with six powers", the Abrar daily reported.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that a confidential IAEA staff had concluded that Iran has acquired "sufficient information to be able to design and produce" an atom bomb.

ElBaradei said there was no "concrete proof" that Iran was seeking nuclear weapons capability but the IAEA remained concerned over the possibility. — Reuters