[ RadSafe ] Iranian confirms underground nuke plant

[Gerry Blackwood]

<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7119928/print/1/displaymode/1098/>
  MSNBC.com

Iranian confirms underground nuke plant
But official says defensive measures don't signal weapons program
The Associated Press
Updated: 4:52 p.m. ET March 7, 2005


NATANZ, Iran - An Iranian official confirmed Monday that a uranium
enrichment plant in central Iran is underground as a protection against
airstrikes, but insisted that is not a sign the program aims to produce
nuclear weapons.

U.S. officials have said building nuclear facilities underground is
inconsistent with Iran's contention its atomic program is intended only 
for
the generation of electricity. The Iranians deny Washington's 
accusation
that they are trying to build nuclear weapons.

Ali Akbar Salehi, a nuclear affairs adviser to the foreign minister, 
said
U.S. and Israeli threats forced Iran to take precautions to protect its
technology, including the string of centrifuges used to enrich uranium 
- a
process that can produce fuel for nuclear reactors that generate
electricity but also make material suitable for atomic warheads.

First public confirmation
"To protect the safety of equipment against possible danger of aerial
attack, a major part of the plant has been constructed underground,
especially where thousands of centrifuges need to be located," Salehi 
told
the Associated Press.

It was the first public confirmation by Iran that the Natanz facility 
is
underground.

On Saturday, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Hasan Rowhani, confirmed 
Iran
is building a tunnel next to another nuclear facility in Isfahan. He 
said
that the tunnel, under a mountain, will be used to store unspecified
equipment and that air attacks would not be able to destroy it.

The central cities of Natanz and Isfahan house the heart of Iran's 
nuclear
program. The conversion facility in Isfahan reprocesses uranium ore
concentrate, known as yellowcake, into uranium hexaflouride gas. The 
gas is
then taken to Natanz and fed into the centrifuges for enrichment.

The facility at Natanz is at the foot of a mountain in an otherwise 
barren
desert some 200 miles south of the capital, Tehran. Some of its 
buildings,
which are believed to be administrative offices, are visible from the 
main
road running from Kashan to Natanz.

Travelers asked to leave
There are military bases not far from the facility. Travelers who stop 
on
the road close to the facility are approached by security officers in
plainclothes and asked to leave.

Iran began its nuclear program in secrecy, and now says it has achieved
proficiency in the full range of activities involved in enriching 
uranium.

Iran's former president, Hashemi Rafsanjani, said Sunday that Iran
initially developed the program in secret and bought nuclear materials 
on
the black market because of U.S. sanctions and European restrictions 
that
denied Iran access to advanced civilian nuclear technology.

He said that Iran has been very open about the program since 2002, when
secret aspects of its nuclear activities were revealed, and that it is
cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. 
nuclear
watchdog.

The government argues it is entitled to work on civilian uses of 
uranium
enrichment under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

Iran suspended enrichment-related activities last year to create 
confidence
during negotiations over its program and avoid the U.N. Security 
Council
considering sanctions. But it says maintaining the voluntary freeze 
depends
on progress in talks with Britain, Germany and France, which are
negotiating on behalf of the European Union.
© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not 
be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7119928/



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