Iran tells IAEA it is building 2nd enrichment plant
VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran has told the U.N. nuclear watchdog that it has a second uranium enrichment plant under construction, a belated disclosure sure to heighten Western fears of a stealthy Iranian quest for nuclear arms capability.
Iran told the International Atomic Energy Agency of the plant's existence in a letter to IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei on Monday just as six world powers and Iran prepare for rare talks on October 1 on its disputed nuclear drive.
The revelation, extending a history of Iran withholding sensitive nuclear plans from U.N. non-proliferation inspectors, may sharpen a standoff between the powers and Iran over its nuclear ambitions and give grist to Western calls to consider tougher U.N. sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
A senior White House official said President Barack Obama and the leaders of Britain and France, now at a G-20 summit of industrialized nations in Pittsburgh, would accuse Iran on Friday of concealing a sensitive plant from the IAEA for years.
Obama would demand that Iran allow an immediate IAEA inspection of the plant, the official said.
He said the nascent plant was believed to be designed for about 3,000 centrifuges for enriching uranium, nominally enough machines to produce material for one nuclear device in a year if run nonstop, although Iran does not appear to have mastered the sophisticated technology consistently yet, nuclear analysts say.
Iran is under U.N. sanctions for refusing to suspend enrichment and denying access the IAEA needs to clarify Western intelligence indications that Iran has geared nuclear research to developing atom bombs, not generating electricity as it says.
Confirming diplomatic leaks, the Vienna-based IAEA said Iran had told the agency of a new pilot, or experimental-level, uranium enrichment site that was not yet in operation.
IAEA spokesman Marc Vidricaire said Iran had stated that it intended to enrich uranium at the new plant, like its Natanz complex that was hidden from the IAEA until 2002, only to the 5 percent level suitable for power plant fuel.
"The agency also understands from Iran that no nuclear material has been introduced into the facility," he said.
"In response the IAEA has requested to Iran to provide specific information and access to the facility as soon as possible," he said, so U.N. inspectors could verify it would be used for peaceful purposes only.
Iran's ISNA news agency quoted an "informed source" on Friday as confirming the reports of a second uranium enrichment facility, saying it resembled the Natanz plant.
Diplomats close to the IAEA said earlier Iran made clear no centrifuge machines had been installed at the new site, built inside a mountain around 160 km (100 miles) southwest of Tehran.
Vidricaire said Iran's letter pledged 'further complementary information will be provide in an appropriate and due time.'"
FIRST ENRICHMENT PLANT OUTED BY IRAN EXILES Continued...
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