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A First: UN Inspectors in Nuclear Facility Near Qom
Two months after the facility was discovered, a delegation of UN inspectors has arrived in Iran, and this afternoon has already visited the uranium enrichment plant near Qom. An Iranian representative in the IAEA said, "This is a routine visit to the nuclear plants of Iran."
The international delegation, which includes four representatives from the United Nations, arrived by plane in Tehran Saturday night, and today will begin to tour the "Fordo" plant near inspection as "A routine visit to the Iranian nuclear facilities."
Sultania said before the visit that, "The inspectors will arrive and examine the facility in order to become familiar with various aspects regarding the agreement being drafted between the IAEA and our country."
The agreement between the Western nations and Iran will be formulated in the coming days, during a round of talks scheduled to take place between representatives of the IAEA in Geneva. The goal of the talks is to come up with a rough draft agreed upon between Iran and the agency, regarding Iran's future plans for nuclear development, and with the understanding that those plans will not in any way endanger the Middle East, or the world at large.
Motzei Shabbos, the President of the United States, Barak Obama, spoke with the President of Russia, Dmitri Medvedev, and the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy. The three concurred that the formation of a written agreement will be a useful step in the right direction, but that such a step must be taken as soon as possible.
Immediately after the second facility was disclosed, during a meeting of the UN, the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said that his country will be happy to host IAEA inspectors. Today, two months after that statement was uttered, Ahmadinejad kept his word, probably in light of the talks being held in Geneva.
Details about the visit have not yet been publicized, but Iran has stated that the UN intends on conducting additional visits to the facility, remaining in the country until Tuesday. "The inspectors who arrived in Iran on Sunday visited the facility in central Iran. They are expected to visit the site again," the Iranian news agency, Mehr, reported.
The tour will be limited to the new facility, where the Iranians are intending to construct an additional 300 centrifuges for uranium enrichment.