Iranian Confirms Underground Nuke Plant
AP/MSNBC | 03/07/2005 | AP
 

But official says defensive measures don't signal weapons program - NATANZ, Iran - An Iranian official confirmed Monday that a uranium enrichment plant in central Iran is underground as a protection against airstrikes, but insisted that is not a sign the program aims to produce nuclear weapons.

U.S. officials have said building nuclear facilities underground is inconsistent with Iran’s contention its atomic program is intended only for the generation of electricity. The Iranians deny Washington’s accusation that they are trying to build nuclear weapons.

Ali Akbar Salehi, a nuclear affairs adviser to the foreign minister, said U.S. and Israeli threats forced Iran to take precautions to protect its technology, including the string of centrifuges used to enrich uranium — a process that can produce fuel for nuclear reactors that generate electricity but also make material suitable for atomic warheads.....
 

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