Iran- Nuclear

Nuclear fuel exchange welcomed by Ahmadinejad

Article published on the 2009-10-29 Latest update 2009-10-29 09:09 TU

An IAEA nuclear inspector arrives at the Imam Khomeini International airport, 25 October 2009.
(Photo: Reuters)

Iran has welcomed the idea of exchanging nuclear fuel and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the country was ready for cooperation with Western powers on the issue. This comes not long after a team of experts from UN atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, returned from visiting a newly revealed uranium enrichment plant.

 Herman Nackaerts, head of the four-member mission said the trip to the Fordo enrichment plant had been a good one upon arriving back in Vienna airport: “Now we’re going to  analyse the data and the Director General (Mohamed Elbaradei) will report in due time.”

He declined to comment when asked if there has been any suprises and refused to provide any details about the nature of the first inspection of the site that is being built inside a mountain near the Shiite holy city of Qom.

The announcement of its existence last September lead to widespread outrage in the West which suspects Iran’s ultimate goal is to make atomic weapons. Something that Teheran strongly denies.

Iran has been enriching uranium for the last several years at the Natanz plant despite three sets of UN sanction.  

Uranium is enriched generally to produce fuel for civilian reactor but on a large scale can lead to the creation the fissile cores of atomic bombs.

IAEA experts also wanted to take environmental samples around the plant to assess whether any radioactive material had been moved into the facility.

Iranian officials have previously said no radioactive materials have been put inside the plant which they say is still under construction.