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UN Inspectors Get 1st Look at Iran Nuke Site

Will spend 3 days inside

By the Associated Press

Posted Oct 25, 2009 12:41 PM CDT

(AP) – UN inspectors got their first look today inside Iran's once-secret uranium enrichment facility that has raised Western suspicions. The semiofficial Mehr news agency reported a four-member team visited the heavily protected facility at Qom, 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.

The inspectors are expected to stay three days while they compare Iran's engineering plans with the plant's actual layout, interview employees, and take environmental samples to check for the presence of nuclear materials. 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 ability to produce weapons-grade material. Although Iran has not given its official answer on the proposed nuclear deal, there are increasing doubts that Iran's leadership will come on board.

Inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) leave the Imam Khomeini airport outside Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009.
Inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) leave the Imam Khomeini airport outside Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009.   (Vahid Salemi)
Inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) leave the Imam Khomeini airport outside Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009.
Inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) leave the Imam Khomeini airport outside Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009.   (Vahid Salemi)
Two unidentified inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrive at the Imam Khomeini airport outside Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009.
Two unidentified inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrive at the Imam Khomeini airport outside Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009.   (Vahid Salemi)
An unidentified inspector of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) makes her way to a car to leave the Imam Khomeini airport outside Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009.
An unidentified inspector of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) makes her way to a car to leave the Imam Khomeini airport outside Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009.   (Vahid Salemi)
An unidentified inspector of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) enters a car to leave the Imam Khomeini airport outside Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009.
An unidentified inspector of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) enters a car to leave the Imam Khomeini airport outside Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009.   (Vahid Salemi)
Inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sit in a car as they leave the Imam Khomeini airport outside Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009.
Inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sit in a car as they leave the Imam Khomeini airport outside Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009.   (Vahid Salemi)
An unidentified IAEA inspector sits in a car while waiting to leave the airport outside Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009.  A team of inspectors are in Iran to see a recently revealed nuclear site.
An unidentified IAEA inspector sits in a car while waiting to leave the airport outside Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009. A team of inspectors are in Iran to see a recently revealed nuclear site.   (Vahid Salemi)
IAEA inspectors leave the airport outside Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009. The experts are in Iran to visit a recently revealed nuclear site, amid new efforts to curb its nuclear program.
IAEA inspectors leave the airport outside Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009. The experts are in Iran to visit a recently revealed nuclear site, amid new efforts to curb its nuclear program.   (Vahid Salemi)
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Copyright 2012 Newser, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. AP contributed to this report.

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