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Second uranium enrichment plant, Iran announces

Global Arab Network - - Adam Turner

Friday, 25 September 2009 09:52

Iran has informed the UN nuclear watchdog agency it has a second uranium enrichment plant, according to diplomats.
Unnamed officials told the Reuters news agency on Friday that Tehran notified the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the plant's existence in a letter earlier this week.

A senior diplomat close to the IAEA said that Iran had told the agency the facility was a pilot, or experimental-level, enrichment site that was not yet in operation.

The Iranian letter was addressed to Mohamed ElBaradei, the IAEA director-general.

No further details were immediately available.

Iran was previously known to have one enrichment plant at Natanz, under daily surveillance by IAEA inspectors.

The New York Times reports that leaders of the US, UK and France will accuse Iran of building a secret plant, before the opening of the G-20 economic summit later on Friday.

The newspaper also quotes US officials as saying that the site - built inside a mountain near the ancient city of Qom - is not yet complete, but could be ready for operation next year.

It said the facility is believed to be capable of holding some 3,000 centrifuges, the machines that enrich uranium.

Iran has been under months of pressure to accept US President Barack Obama's offer of talks on its nuclear ambitions.

Earlier this month, Tehran agreed to "comprehensive" talks on a range of security issues - but made no mention of its own nuclear programme.

The talks are due to be held in Geneva on 1 October with Tehran and the five permanent UN Security Council members - US, UK, Russia, China and France - plus Germany.

Russia has signalled it might be prepared to soften its opposition to further sanctions against Iran, although China has said such pressure would not be effective.

The Islamic Republic is currently under UN sanctions for refusing to suspend enrichment and failing to clarify suspicions that its nuclear activity is aimed at developing atom bombs, not generating electricity as it says. (Reuters, Guardian, BBC, The New York Times)

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