WORLD> Middle East
Iran new enrichment plant to be operational soon
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-26 17:48

TEHRAN: Head of the office of Iran's supreme leader Mohammad Mohammadi-Golpayegani said on Saturday that Iran's new nuclear fuel enrichment plant will be operational soon, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

"This new plant, God willing, will be operational soon," Mohammadi-Golpayegani was quoted as saying.

Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi on Friday confirmed that Iran is building a new nuclear fuel enrichment plant.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran has achieved a successful new step on the way of preserving and enjoying its undeniable right for peaceful use of nuclear energy," Salehi was quoted as saying in a statement, "and Iran has started building a semi-industrial plant for enriching nuclear fuel."

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The United States and other Western countries claim that Iran intends to secretly develop nuclear weapons. The UN Security Council also requires Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activity.

Iran, however, insists that its nuclear plan is only for peaceful purposes, vowing to continue its uranium enrichment activity despite pressure and sanctions from Western countries.