IAEA inspectors arrive in Iran

2005-06-27 15:20

Tehran - Reports that Iran worked secretly with plutonium, a possible component of nuclear weapons, are expected to figure prominently in talks between Iranian officials and two inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who arrived here on Monday.

The visit by the two representatives of the UN nuclear agency is billed as routine, but it is the first since Friday's presidential elections, which were won by hard-line candidate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who has vowed to continue Iran's nuclear development.

Aides to vice-president Gholamreza Aghazadeh told AP that the two inspectors went immediately into meetings with Iranian nuclear officials.

Aghazadeh heads Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation.

The officials said the talks would include the dispute caused by a recent IAEA report on Iran's conducting experiments with plutonium.

The report, released earlier this month, said Iran had acknowledged working with small amounts of plutonium longer than it originally had disclosed.

The report also said Iran had received technology that could be used for a weapons programme earlier than it had previously acknowledged.

IAEA deputy director-general Pierre Goldschmidt said while Iran had said its plutonium separation finished in 1993, Iranian officials had revealed two months ago that there had been related experiments in 1995 and 1998.

Iran criticised the report, accusing Goldschmidt of playing up information Tehran itself had provided.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Hasan Rowhani, said last week that Iran conducted plutonium experiments of microgram scale at laboratory level and for scientific research.

The IAEA criticised Tehran for not revealing its later plutonium work.

Plutonium can be used in nuclear weapons, but it also has uses in peaceful programmes to generate power - which is what Iran says is the sole purpose of its nuclear activities.

During their visit, the IAEA inspectors will see some nuclear facilities, the officials in Aghazadeh's office said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.

President-elect Ahmadinejad said on Sunday his government would continue talks with European negotiators, "while preserving our national interests and insistence on the right of the Iranian nation to use nuclear energy ... this is the final path we have taken".

During the election campaign, Ahmadinejad indicated he would want Iran's negotiators to take a tougher position in their talks with Britain, France and Germany, who are trying to persuade Iran to abandon its uranium enrichment and related activities.

The United States holds that Iran has a secret programme to build nuclear weapons, and points to its clandestine activities as evidence that Iran cannot be trusted. The Iranian enrichment program was revealed only three years ago.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is entirely for the generation of electricity. It has suspended enrichment and related activities as a goodwill gesture for the negotiations with the Europeans, but it has said repeatedly the suspension cannot be permanent.

- AP