Iran's second enrichment plant 'not secret': Nuclear chief

Iran's second uranium enrichment plant, whose existence was made public on Friday, was not a secret, the chief of Iran's nuclear agency said.

Iran's second uranium enrichment plant, whose existence was made public on Friday, was not a secret, the chief of Iran's nuclear agency said.

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"This installation is not a secret one, which is why we announced its existence to the IAEA," Ali Akbar Saleri told AFP.

"When I took over the job in July I committed myself to accelerate cooperation (with the International Atomic Energy Agency) and within the existing framework of regulations and of our cooperation with the IAEA we announced the existence of this installation to the agency."

Iranian officials claim Tehran is only obliged to inform the IAEA of the existence of any new site 180 days before putting radioactive materials into the new installation.

Prior to that, they insist, Iran does not need to say anything about building new nuclear sites.