New York: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday brushed off Western criticism over a newly revealed nuclear enrichment plant, saying it was "perfectly legal”.
Iran had informed the IAEA international nuclear watchdog about the plant`s existence and "should be encouraged for that. It was perfectly legal," he said at a press conference in New York.
Denying that the revelation had plunged relations between Iran and Western powers into crisis, Ahmadinejad said he was "very hopeful" about talks with the IAEA in Geneva on October 1.
"We decided to refrain from reacting strongly to what happened this morning. We showed restraint," he said in his first public remarks since news broke of the facility at Qom, 160 kilometres (100 miles) south of Tehran.
The United States and European powers led the outcry on Friday claiming that Iran, which had previously declared only one such plant at Natanz, had attempted to dupe the international community.
The surprise revelation appeared likely to fuel momentum toward new sanctions against the country, which has already been punished by the United Nations for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment.
Thw US, Israeli and other critics suspect Iran is covertly trying to build an atomic weapon, but Iran says it needs nuclear fuel only for civilian power.
‘Facility revealed on time’
The head of Iran`s nuclear program, meanwhile, insisted that his country reported the existence of a new uranium enrichment plant at the proper time and suggested that UN inspectors will be allowed to visit the facility.
"We announced this new project on time," Iranian nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi told state TV. "The West would criticise Iran no matter when Iran announced it."
Bureau Report
