On the sidelines of the meeting of NAM foreign ministers held in Tehran yesterday, Iran's envoy to the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] Ali Asghar Soltanieh, made an interesting point about the West's investigation on Iran's nuclear facilities.

According to Khabar Online's correspondent, Soltaniehsaid at a news conference: "In 2004 when the Islamic Republic of Iran was implementing an IAEA's added protocol, we [the officials of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization] accompanied the agency's inspectors to Bushehr where they wanted to visit a mine."
 
 "After finishing their inspection, the IAEA staff told that they had been informed about another uranium mine in the region. However, we said if the CIA agents have found another mine, we will award them," he stated.
 
"The head of IAEA inspection team remarked that from two years ago, the satellite service had monitored the area, moreover visual documents and other evidences have cast no doubt that uranium is extracted from and enrichment is underway in the region."
 
Iran's top IAEA delegate went on to say: "We were sure that no nuclear activity was underway there, however, we had a full cooperation with the inspectors and agreed to go and visit the region."
 
"When we reached to the suspected region, we saw a sign belonging to a private company which was involved in extracting stone. The IAEA inspectors could not trace any radioactive element at the place, Soltanieh said.
 
" They maintained that according to a satellite photo the building constructed there was a source of concern, but the building turned out to be a toilet being used by the personnel of the company. As a matter of fact, the inspectors of the agency had been misled by the speculations."
 
The West powers, above them the United States claim Iran's nuclear program is meant for producing atomic weapons, but the Islamic Republic has categorically rejected such allegation stressing that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran has focused its nuclear activity on civilian purposes including medical research and electricity production.
 
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) whose 16th round is being held in Tehran, is an organization of states considering themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It was founded in 1961 and has 118 members. The organization which includes nearly two-thirds of UN member states aims to protect the interests of developing countries within the context of international diplomatic relations.
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