Iran invites envoys to nuclear sites

By Wang Zhaokun and He Xin

The Iranian embassy in Beijing confirmed Tuesday that Tehran had issued invitations to some world powers and developing countries to visit its nuclear facilities this month. But the embassy declined to say whether the US was invited.

"We have issued our invitation to China, Russia and the EU for a visit to Iran's nuclear facilities," said Ma Zhigang, an official at Tehran's embassy in China, who added that it was not appropriate to disclose the exact time and location of the tour.

However, the Tehran-based ISNA News Agency cited Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Ali Asgar Soltanieh, as saying the visit was scheduled for January 15-16 and would be to the country's main uranium enrichment plant at Natanz and to the heavy-water facility at Arak.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Tuesday that China had received an invitation to tour Iran's nuclear sites. Hong said China would maintain its communications with Iran on the matter and hopes the dispute over its nuclear program will be resolved through dialogue.

Hungary, which holds the current EU presidency, said it had also received Iran's invitation and was consulting EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and member states about Tehran's proposal.

Diplomatic sources at the IAEA said the US, Britain, France and Germany didn't receive invitations, according to AFP. The US, fearing that Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons, has been spearheading a campaign of sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program.

The New York Times said the invitation was seemingly calculated to divide the alliance of nations opposed to Iran's nuclear ambitions. "It's a clever ploy, but it's not a substitute for Iran's responsibilities to the IAEA," US State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley said.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told the AP earlier that the offer went to "the EU, the non-aligned movement and representatives from 5+1 countries," and he added that the list would be revealed later.