Tehran - Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), arrived on Saturday in Tehran for a two- day visit to discuss the newly-revealed second Iranian enrichment plant with Iran's atomic chief Ali-Akbar Salehi. ElBaradei is also to arrange a date for a first IAEA inspection of the site which is located near the holy city of Qom, 130 kilometres south of the capital Tehran.
There are however no plans for ElBaradei himself to visit the site. It was also unclear whether he would meet Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The IAEA head is also scheduled to discuss Iran's new initiative to increase 3.5-per-cent-enriched uranium from its Natanz plant in central Iran to 20 per cent through foreign countries.
The 20-per-cent-enriched uranium is supposed to be used for the Tehran reactor, which is a basic research reactor producing medical isotopes.
The West has exposed Tehran's readiness to increase the level of its enriched uranium outside the country as a success of Thursday's nuclear talks in Geneva between Iran and the six world powers.
Iran also declared the Geneva meeting as a success. The state media reported that the world powers have finally given in and acknowledged Iran's right to pursue its nuclear programmes as well as the disputed enrichment process.
Observers however wonder whether the Iranian initiative would lead to a green light to Iran by the world powers to go ahead with its uranium enrichment programme up to the 5-per-cent level, usable only for nuclear fuel but not for making atomic bombs.
It is not yet clear how much of the 1.5 tons of enriched uranium in Natanz would be given by Tehran to a foreign country for further enrichment.
The initial demand by the world powers from Iran was to suspend the enrichment process until the peaceful nature of its nuclear programmes was proven.
Tehran has constantly rejected this demand and said as a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and as member of the IAEA, Iran had the legitimate right to pursue civil nuclear programmes, including low-level uranium enrichment.
