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1 February 2014 - 10:44

Director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi says inspections of the country's nuclear facilities by the UN's nuclear agency are going smoothly.

Salehi says experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have visited all of Iran's nuclear facilities and will present their report to the agency in the near future.

He also stated that Iran has already suspended its uranium enrichment activities beyond five percent.

Commenting on a draft bill endorsed by the Iranian lawmakers to raise the uranium enrichment level in Iran to 60 percent if the United States imposes more sanctions against the Islamic Republic, Salehi said that the country does not need to enrich uranium to such level, but if the bill is signed into a law, the government will have no option but to obey.

The inspections are part of a joint statement signed by Iran and the UN nuclear body in November 2013 to outline a roadmap for bilateral cooperation on certain outstanding issues.

Under the deal, Iran agreed, on a voluntary basis, to allow the IAEA inspectors to visit the Arak heavy water plant and the Gachin uranium mine.

The IAEA Safeguards Agreement does not require Tehran to authorize IAEA inspections of these sites. The voluntary move is a goodwill gesture on the part of Iran to clear up ambiguities over the peaceful nature of its nuclear energy program.

On Wednesday, a three-member IAEA inspection delegation made a five-hour visit to the Gachin uranium mine in southern Iran.

The IAEA inspectors visited the Arak heavy water production plant on December 8, 2013.
 

News ID 186199