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Publish date: July 30, 2007
News
It is the first such visit since Iran blocked access to the plant outside the central town of Arak in April.
"A group of inspectors are arriving today to inspect Arak and this is within the framework of what we agreed with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini was quoted by AFP Monday.
Iran had said on July 13th that it would let IAEA inspectors visit the Arak heavy water reactor, which is currently under construction and should be completed in 2009.
Its decision was seen as a conciliatory move at a time of mounting tension over the Iranian nuclear programme, which has already seen Tehran slapped with two sets of UN sanctions.
The United States fears the Arak reactor could provide plutonium for weapons but Iran insists that it will provide key nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
Following Kazakhstan’s country-wide vote in favor of building a nuclear power plant earlier this month, Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom has begun a courtship of officialdom in Astana, the country’s capital, in apparent hopes of landing a contract to construct it.
A survey of events in the field of nuclear and radiation safety relating to Russia and Ukraine.
Kazakhstan voted in a referendum last weekend on whether to build its first nuclear power plant, and an exit poll showed voters backed the idea promoted by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's cabinet in an effort to phase out coal plants.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution and climate change.