Iran nuke chief: Plant reported "on time"

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-26 01:50

TEHRAN, Iran: The head of Iran's nuclear program insisted Friday that his country reported the existence of a new uranium enrichment plant at the proper time and suggested that UN inspectors will be allowed to visit the facility.

Iran's revelation of the site to the UN nuclear watchdog in a letter Monday has sparked accusations by the United States and Europe that it was hiding the facility, fueling their fears of a secret program to build a nuclear weapons. Iran denies the accusation, saying its program is intended to generate electricity.

"We announced this new project on time," Iranian nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi told state TV. "The West would criticise Iran no matter when Iran announced it."

Ealier Friday, Salehi gave the first public official confirmation of the site on the state news agency IRNA. He depicted it as new, saying Iran is "now in the process of building" what he called "a semi-industrial plant for enriching nuclear fuel."

He said Iran had achieved a "successful new step in the direction of preserving and enjoying its accepted right for peaceful use of nuclear energy."

"The activities of this facility, like other nuclear facilities in Iran, will be in the framework of the measures of the agency," he said, referring to the IAEA. The comment suggests that the new facility could be opened to inspectors, like Iran's known enrichment facility, Natanz.

Salehi, who heads the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, gave no details on the facility, including its name or location.