Iran is to inform the head of the UN nuclear watchdog chief in Vienna about its future nuclear programmes, a senior Iranian nuclear official told state television Saturday. ( dpa )
Diplomats in the Austrian capital confirmed that Iran's Vice President and head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation, Gholamreza Aghazadeh, would go on Monday to Vienna for talks with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Mohamed ElBaradei.
Aqazadeh's deputy, Mohammad Saeidi, told state TV that the meeting will be held at the request of both sides and was aimed at clarifying Iran's future nuclear programmes, including use of higher speed centrifuges for uranium enrichment.
Saeidi said that the IAEA had been informed in advance of the installation of the new 6,000 centrifuges last Tuesday but refrained to say whether the issue would be on the agenda of the Vienna talks as well.
The deputy of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation added that IAEA inspections would continue in the future, but pointed out that as all ambiguities over Iran's nuclear projects have already been cleared, the new inspections would just have a "routine nature."
On the occasion of the so-called "National Day of Nuclear Achievement" last Tuesday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad proclaimed start of installation of 6,000 new centrifuges which are, according to Saeidi, P1 and not the advanced and faster P2 centrifuges.
Ahmadinejad had however said "new devices" would be tested and ready within three months. He claimed that the new devices would be "five times" as fast as the previous ones but gave no details.
Saeidi said that incentives by world powers for persuading Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment programme would eventually not work and called on the five UN veto powers plus Germany to adopt "more rational policies" and acknowledge Iran's technical achievements and peaceful nature of its atomic projects.
Ahmadinejad on Wednesday rejected once again international demands from Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment programmes and said no world power could stop Iran's nuclear drive.
Iran insists on pursuing its civil nuclear programme despite Western doubts about the peaceful nature of the projects and wants to install at least 54,000 enrichment centrifuges for achieving its own nuclear fuel cycle.