Iran says it offered

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) _ Iran said Saturday it has offered the ``complete story'' to the U.N. nuclear watchdog about traces of weapons-grade uranium and documents pertaining to advanced centrifuges

Saturday, April 24th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6


TEHRAN, Iran (AP) _ Iran said Saturday it has offered the ``complete story'' to the U.N. nuclear watchdog about traces of weapons-grade uranium and documents pertaining to advanced centrifuges that could be used to produce atomic bombs.

Mohammad Saeedi, a top Iranian nuclear official, told The Associated Press the information was submitted to five prominent International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors who visited Iran during a two-week visit.

The inspectors, who arrived in Iran April 12, left Tehran Friday, he said.

``We offered them the complete story about traces of highly enriched uranium, mainly all movements of contaminated equipment inside Iran,'' said Saeedi, director of the International Affairs Department at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

Another team of IAEA inspectors arrived Saturday for ``routine inspections,'' Saeedi said, giving no further details.

IAEA officials were not immediately available for comment Saturday.

Uranium enriched to low levels can be used in power plants, while highly enriched uranium can be used in bombs. IAEA experts last year found traces of highly enriched uranium at two Iranian sites on equipment Iran says was contaminated before it was purchased on the international nuclear black market.

Inspectors have also discovered an advanced P-2 centrifuge program that Iran had not reported to the U.N. agency.

Saeedi said Iran explained to the IAEA inspectors that it had conducted research on the centrifuges but not produced them.

``I think they were convinced with our explanations. We explained how far we had progressed in our research,'' he said.

Saeedi said Iran has not yet decided whether to produce P-2 centrifuges _ equipment that could be used to enrich uranium for use in a weapon _ but has produced P-1 centrifuges for low-grade enrichment.

Iran suspended uranium enrichment last year under strong international pressure but continued with its centrifuge program. It eventually said this month that it had stopped building centrifuges.

The United States and other nations accuse Iran of having a covert nuclear weapons program and are pushing the United Nations to impose sanctions.

IAEA Chief Mohammed ElBaradei hopes to present an assessment of Iran's nuclear activities to the IAEA board of governors in June.
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