For the first time in nearly a year, IAEA inspectors have been granted access to Iran’s heavy water facility at Arak, and have been allowed to expand monitoring operations at the Natanz uranium enrichment site.
According to the AP:
International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors visited the nearly finished Arak heavy water reactor last week, the diplomats told The Associated Press. Separately, they said Iran agreed last week to IAEA requests to expand its monitoring of the Natanz uranium enrichment site, which produces material for nuclear fuel that can be further enriched to provide fissile material for warheads.
The move comes roughly a week before the IAEA is set to issue its next report on the status of Iran’s nuclear program, and one day after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced his picks for cabinet ministers in his second term as president. Ahmadinejad surprised some by keeping Manouchehr Mottaki as his Foreign Minister, rather than appointing the inflammatory nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili to the post.
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