ISFAHAN, Iran, 4 February 2007 — Iran yesterday opened doors to its nuclear conversion plant in a show of transparency amid mounting international pressures on the country to halt its controversial atomic plans. A delegation of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and Group of 77 representatives arrived at the uranium conversion facility in the central city of Isfahan together with foreign and Iranian journalists for a guided tour.
The delegation included the ambassadors to the International Atomic Energy Agency of Cuba, Malaysia and Egypt — representing the NAM — Sudan and Bolivia from the Group of 77 as well as the Algerian envoy. A large group of Iranian and foreign journalists were allowed to accompany the diplomats.
“They have the opportunity to see for themselves what is going on in the peaceful nuclear activities of Iran and have first-hand experience,” said Iran’s envoy to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh. “This is the maximum transparency you can imagine that a country can have, and shows the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran pays due attention to public opinion of the international community.”
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani yesterday asserted that Tehran allows UN officials free reign to inspect the country’s atomic sites, amid claims it is blocking inspectors. “According to the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty ... Iran allows the inspectors the freedom to carry out their inspections,” Larijani was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.
