Iran: IAEA inspectors can visit nuke site

TEHRAN, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Iran's newly revealed second uranium enrichment plant will be operational soon, and inspectors will be allowed to see it, Iranian leaders said Saturday.

Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, head of the office of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, told the semi-official Fars News Agency that, "God willing, this plant will be put into operation soon, and will blind the eyes of the enemies."

Meanwhile, Iran's nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, said United Nations nuclear inspectors would be allowed to visit the facility.

But Salehi, speaking on state television, did not elaborate on when International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors would be allowed into the Qum site and what kind of monitoring it could set up, The New York Times reported.

Golpayegani, referring to alleged Western plots to undermine Iran during fierce rioting that gripped the country in the wake of the disputed June presidential election, told Fars, "These incidents did not push us into a state of backwardness, rather we are enjoying maximum power today and construction of the new nuclear enrichment plant, announced yesterday, is an indication of this power."

News that Iran had revealed the existence of a secret uranium enrichment plant this week fueled concerns among Western countries that Tehran was stepping up its efforts to develop a nuclear weapon. But Iran insists its nuclear program is meant only for peace civilian nuclear energy purposes.