IAEA seeks information on planned Iranian nuclear sites (Roundup)

Dec 1, 2009, 13:24 GMT

   Vienna/Tehran - The International Atomic Energy Agency is still awaiting information from Iran on the ten additional nuclear sites that the country plans to build, the IAEA's spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday announced plans for the uranium enrichment plants as a reaction to a resolution by the IAEA's governing board last week which censured Tehran for having secretly started to build such a plant at Fordu.

'Iran has not yet informed the Agency directly of its decision,' IAEA spokeswoman Gill Tudor said. 'The Agency will be seeking clarification from Iran on its announcement.'

While the IAEA and its board have made clear that the Vienna-based agency must be notified of new nuclear installations as soon as there is a decision to build them, Tehran claims it has the right to wait until six months before operations begin.

Meanwhile, Iran's foreign ministry said it would to send complaint letters to all 25 IAEA member states which voted in favour of the resolution to make them understand that their decision was incorrect.

Iran would also send letters of gratitude and appreciation to all those countries which voted against the resolution, Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast added.

Only Cuba, Malaysia and Venezuela opposed the decision of the 35-country IAEA board, while six countries abstained or were absent.

   Analysts in Iran said Tehran's move was an effort to ease renewed tensions in the nuclear dispute, and also a bid to avoid financial sanctions against the Islamic state.

   Some hardline lawmakers had called for downgrading relations with the countries that supported the resolution, but Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani on Monday said there was still room for diplomacy to settle the dispute.

   However, Larijani warned that Iran would adopt 'other policies' if world powers would once again consider sanctions against Iran.