Iran denies inspectors access to site
(AP)
Updated: 2006-08-21 22:23
VIENNA, Austria - Iran has turned away UN inspectors wanting to examine its
underground nuclear site in an apparent violation of the Nonproliferation
Treaty, diplomats and UN officials said Monday.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki
listens during the South Africa-Iran Joint Bilateral Commission at the
Presidential Guesthouse in Pretoria, South Africa, Monday, Aug. 21, 2006.
Iran has finished considering an offer to settle its international nuclear
dispute, Mottaki said in Pretoria on Monday.
[AP]
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The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the
confidentiality of the information, told The Associated Press that Iran's
unprecedented refusal to allow access to the facility at Natanz could seriously
hamper international efforts to ensure that Tehran is not trying to make nuclear
weapons.
The revelation came on the eve of Iran's self-imposed Aug. 22 deadline to
respond to a Western incentives package for it to roll back its disputed nuclear
program. The
United Nations has given Tehran until the end of August to
suspend uranium enrichment.
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