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Iran put nuclear site near base in case of attack

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-30 01:47

TEHRAN, Iran: Iran's nuclear chief said Tuesday his country built its newly revealed uranium enrichment facility inside a mountain next to a military site to ensure continuity of its nuclear activities in case of an attack — an unusually detailed disclosure that may be intended defuse international pressure.

But Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi, who also heads the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, took a hard line over the country's nuclear rights two days before the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany meet with Iran in Geneva.

This satellite image taken Saturday Sept. 26, 2009, provided by GeoEye shows a facility under construction inside a mountain located about 20 miles north northeast of Qom, Iran. Although there is no confirmation, analysts at both the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security and London-based IHS Jane's believe this satellite photo of a site on a military base near Qom, Iran, is most likely the location of the newly revealed centrifuge facility. Analysts at both ISIS and Jane's point to apparent tunnel entrances leading into a mountain. [Agencies]

He said Iran is willing to have a general discussion about nuclear technology in Geneva but will not give up its right to uranium enrichment and conversion.

"We will never bargain over our sovereign right," said Salehi.

The revelations of the site that had been secretly under construction brought increased international pressure on Iran to come clean on its nuclear program, which the US and others suspect is aimed at producing atomic bombs.

Related readings:  China expects progress in new meeting on Iran's nuclear issue  US eyes energy, financial sanctions on Iran  Iran to give time soon for atom plant inspection: TV  Iran conducts 3rd round of missile tests  Obama to Iran: Come clean on nukes

Salehi reiterated that Iran is in talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency to set a timetable "soon" for an inspection of the site near the holy city of Qom. But he said the country did not feel bound by a US demand to allow the inspection within a month.

"We are working out the timetable," said Salehi. "It could be sooner than a month or later."

He said the nuclear facility is next to a military compound of the Revolutionary Guard, Iran's most powerful military force, equipped with an air defense system. Salehi also said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told him Tuesday he named the enrichment plant "Meshkat," which means Lantern.

"This site is at the base of a mountain and was selected on purpose in a place that would be protected against aerial attack. That's why the site was chosen adjacent to a military site," Salehi told a news conference. "It was intended to safeguard our nuclear facilities and reduce the cost of active defense system. If we had chosen another site, we would have had to set up another aerial defense system."

Details about the newly revealed site and the fact that Iran kept its construction secret have raised more suspicion among experts and Western governments that Iran's nuclear program is aimed at producing weapons — something Tehran has long denied. The US and its allies have strongly condemned Iran over the site and demanded it immediately make a full disclosure on its nuclear activities or face harsher international sanctions.

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