Nuclear inspection
October 4, 2009
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohammed ElBaradei made the announcement at a joint press conference with Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi in Tehran on Sunday.
"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," ElBaradei said.
Iran last month disclosed the existence of the second unranium-enrichment facility near the holy Shi'ite city of Qom, sparking an international outcry. Tehran says the site, which has space for about 3,000 centrifuges, is about 18 months away from going on line.
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.
Praise for Iranian "cooperation"
ElBaradei also praised a shift "from conspiracy to cooperation" in Tehran's dealings with the West.
"I see that we are shifting gears from confrontation into transparency and co-operation. I continue, of course, to call on Iran to be as transparent as possible," he said.
ElBaradei's visit comes as the New York Times quoted an internal IAEA report as saying Iran could have the know-how to produce a workable nuclear bomb.
ElBaradei said the IAEA had "no concrete proof" of a weaponization programme in Iran. But he added that his agency remained concerned over the possibility.
"There are concerns about Iran's future intentions and this is not a verification thing," he said. "We are concerned but we are in no way panicking about Iran's nuclear programme."
ElBaradei's visit to Tehran came after Iran agreed with six world powers – the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany – in Geneva on Thursday to allow IAEA inspectors unfettered access to the plant in central Iran.
Western officials said Iran had agreed "in principle" in Thursday's meeting to ship out most of its enriched uranium for reprocessing in Russia and France. It would then be returned to power a Tehran reactor that makes medical isotopes.
Geneva talks could win Iran a reprieve
The latest 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 further time to develop its nuclear programme.
The Geneva talks were the first of their kind for 15 months, and Western officials acknowledged they marked Iran's "engagement" on its nuclear programme, something that they said Tehran had refused to discuss since July 2008.
After the talks, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana had said that Iran had agreed to cooperate "fully and immediately" over its second uranium enrichment facility near Qom. He expressed hope that the six world powers now expect IAEA inspections of the plant to be allowed within two weeks.
Senior US officials said part of the outcome might temper more immediate fears, especially in the Middle East, that Iran had accumulated enough enriched uranium to produce a nuclear weapon.
ElBaradei said that officials from the United States, Russia, France and Iran would hold talks in Vienna on October 19 on the possible higher enrichment abroad of Tehran's uranium. That meeting is a follow up to talks in Geneva.
rb/AFP/Reuters
Editor: Sonia Phalnikar