Tehran, Oct 3 (DPA) World powers including the US have realised there was no secrecy over the country’s new uranium enrichment plant, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday.
The official news agency IRNA quoted the president as saying that despite Western propaganda, it became clear that Iran was not keeping secrets over the new plant located south of Tehran, near the religious city of Qom.

Ahmadinejad said Tehran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) out of respect for international regulations.

According to the president, the world powers realised after Thursday’s meeting with Iran in Geneva that Iran acted in line with all IAEA regulations.

Ahmadinejad however blamed the UN nuclear watchdog for not having informed US President Barack Obama of the registration of the new plant.

Iran rejected Western concerns about the new plant, saying they informed the IAEA well ahead of a 180-day deadline.

Tehran maintains it needs to provide technical information only six months before introducing nuclear material into the facility. The plant would reportedly not start operations before the end of 2010.

However, Iran accepted in 2003 a new provision in its inspection agreement that says the country is obliged to provide technical information to the IAEA “as soon as the decision to construct or to authorise construction has been taken, whichever is earlier”.

IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei was scheduled to come to Tehran Saturday to discussing the new plant with Iran’s atomic chief Ali-Akbar Salehi.

There were no plans to visit the new enrichment site, state media said. It was also unclear whether he would meet Ahmadinejad.

Ahmadinejad blamed Western media for repeating a false news.

“Today the media have turned into a main tool for toppling independent establishments in the world,” he said.