IRAN: The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency yesterday inspected two Iranian nuclear facilities, which Washington says could be used to produce nuclear weapons, an Iranian official said.
The US has branded Iran along with Iraq and North Korea as part of an "axis of evil" for allegedly seeking weapons of mass destruction and is pressing Russia to stop aiding Tehran's nuclear programme.
Iran denies the US charges but tensions rose this month after Tehran set out an ambitious nuclear energy programme, including plans to enrich uranium.
Dr Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) went to two plants being built near the towns of Natanz and Arak and was due to visit a plant near the southern port of Bushehr.
Before the visit, state television quoted Dr ElBaradei as saying: "I will visit those plants as well as meeting high-ranking officials to have an appropriate understanding of Iran's plans in order to specify the basis of IAEA help to Iran." Mr ElBaradei was due to meet Iranian President Mohammad Khatami before the visit ends on Sunday.
Iran has repeatedly said its nuclear programme is intended to meet the growing energy demands of its 65 million people. But Washington questions why Iran needs nuclear power when it is OPEC's second biggest oil producer and has the world's second biggest gas reserves. It fears the two plants and the Bushehr reactor being built with Russian help could be part of a nuclear weapons programme.
Dr ElBaradei said ahead of the trip that Iranian authorities had promised him full co-operation. He said he would encourage Tehran, already a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to sign the so-called Additional Protocol which obliges states to open up all nuclear facilities to intrusive inspections by the UN agency.
Washington has sent its top arms control official, Undersecretary of State Mr John Bolton, to Moscow, where he will hold talks from tomorrow to try to keep Tehran from achieving full nuclear capability.