Iran
has invited U.N. inspectors to visit its Arak heavy-water production
plant on December 8, the first concrete step under a cooperation
agreement to clarify concerns about Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.
Yukiya Amano, director general of the
International Atomic Energy Agency, also said the IAEA was looking into
how Sunday’s agreement between Iran
and six world powers to curb Tehran’s nuclear activity could be “put
into practice” concerning the U.N. agency’s role in verifying the deal.
The IAEA will expand its monitoring of
Iran’s uranium enrichment sites and other facilities under the interim
accord, reached after marathon talks between Iran and the United States,
France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China.
“This will include the implications for
funding and staffing,” Amano told the IAEA’s 35-nation governing board,
according to a copy of his speech.
“This analysis will take some time. I will consult the board as soon as possible when it has been completed.”
The IAEA’s visit next month to the heavy
water production plant near the town of Arak is part of a separate
agreement signed earlier this month between the Vienna-based U.N. agency
and Iran.
The IAEA has not been at the site for
about two years, despite repeated requests, but Iran agreed on November
11 to grant access to this facility as well as to a uranium mine within
three months.
The Arak facility produces heavy water
intended for use in a nearby research reactor that is under
construction. The West is concerned that the reactor, which Iran has
said could start up next year, could yield plutonium for bombs once it
is operational. Iran says it will produce medical istopes.
Iran has agreed to halt installation work at the reactor and to stop making fuel for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment