IAEA Not Worried About Second Iran Nuclear Site

U.N. inspectors have found “nothing to be worried about” in their first report after visiting a previously secret uranium-enrichment site south of Tehran. The clean assessment, which described the site as a “hole in a mountain,” may cause critics to now look for more diplomatic solutions to Iran’s nuclear program.

Reuters:

U.N. inspectors found “nothing to be worried about” in a first look at a previously secret uranium enrichment site in Iran last month, the International Atomic Energy chief said in remarks published Thursday.

Mohamed ElBaradei also told the New York Times that he was examining possible compromises to unblock a draft nuclear cooperation deal between Iran and three major powers that has foundered over Iranian objections.

The nuclear site, which Iran revealed in September three years after diplomats said Western spies first detected it, added to Western fears of covert Iranian efforts to develop atom bombs. Iran says it is enriching uranium only for electricity.

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Inspectors say Iran’s second enrichment plant may be intended as a fallback for its nuclear program in case its larger Natanz facility is destroyed.