Iran reiterates no sampling at alleged nuke plant

TEHRAN -- - Iran said on Saturday it would not allow U.N. inspectors to take environmental samples at one of its alleged nuclear plants, despite concerted international pressure for it to dispel doubts over its atomic ambitions.

Gholamreza Aghazadeh, head of Iran's Atomic Energy organisation, reiterated the veto, saying that allowing inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to take samples at the Kelaye Electric Company in Tehran would expose Iran to a rash of similar requests.

"We've had no problem concerning environmental samples, but we've been telling the IAEA that this location is a non-nuclear location," Aghazadeh told state television.

"If we accept to operate outside the framework of the protocol (on inspections), it will have no ending...and tomorrow 10 other locations may be named," he said.

Recently, the IAEA reprimanded Iran for what it said was repeated failures to report on nuclear material, facilities and activities as required under its safeguards agreement with the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog.

Iran insists its nuclear programme, which contains a sophisticated network of facilities, is exclusively aimed at generating electricity.

But Washington in particular has raised grave doubts about the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions. U.S. officials argue Iran could soon have the technology in place which would allow it to produce weapons-grade material for nuclear arms.

John Bolton, U.S. under-secretary of state for arms control and international security, said on Friday the United States reserved the right to use military force to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

"It has to be an option," Bolton told BBC radio.

He added, however, that the military option was still far from the minds of U.S. policymakers.

The failure to allow environmental samples to be taken at Kelaye was one of a number of points contained in an IAEA report discussed in Vienna this week.

According to the IAEA, Iran has acknowledged that Kelaye had been used for the production of uranium centrifuge components. But Iran told the IAEA that no nuclear material had been tested there.

IAEA inspectors were refused access to take samples at Kelaye during a visit to Iran earlier this month.