UN inspectors examine Iran’s once-secret nuclear site

UN inspectors got their first look yesterday inside a once-secret uranium enrichment facility that has raised Western suspicions about the extent of Iran’s nuclear programme.

The semi-official Mehr news agency reported the four-member team visited the heavily protected facility, carved into a mountainside south of Tehran. The tour marked the first independent examination of the site, but no results were expected until after the inspectors leave Iran later this week.

The review also coincides with the countdown to Iran’s expected decision on whether to accept a UN-brokered deal to process its nuclear fuel abroad – a plan designed to ease Western fears about Iran’s potential ability to produce weapons-grade material.