Inspectors need time to set up safeguards at Iranian nuclear plant: IAEA

AFP: UN nuclear inspectors still need a few days to set up surveillance cameras at a sensitive nuclear facility where Iran was hoping to resume fuel cycle work as of Monday, a UN atomic agency spokeswoman said in Vienna. “Nothing’s changed. The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) team still needs until the middle of this week to get the inspection system set up and in place before the facility could be restarted,” Melissa Fleming told AFP. AFP

VIENNA – UN nuclear inspectors still need a few days to set up surveillance cameras at a sensitive nuclear facility where Iran was hoping to resume fuel cycle work as of Monday, a UN atomic agency spokeswoman said in Vienna.

“Nothing’s changed. The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) team still needs until the middle of this week to get the inspection system set up and in place before the facility could be restarted,” Melissa Fleming told AFP.

“We continue our request to Iran to refrain from breaking any seals until the safeguards are in place,” Fleming said.

IAEA inspectors arrived Monday at a uranium conversion facility in Isfahan, where the Iranian government plans to resume sensitive nuclear work, a move that would put it on a collision course with the international community.

“The inspectors are in Isfahan to install their equipment and lift seals on the plant,” said an Iranian official who declined to be named.

The official did not specify when the Isfahan plant would restart uranium conversion work, an initial stage in the nuclear fuel cycle, although state television said it could take place around midday (0730 GMT).

Iran has insisted it will resume the work, which turns uranium ore into a feed gas for enrichment, despite the risk of being hauled before the UN Security Council for possible sanctions.