United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks at a monthly news conference at the UN headquarters in New York, the U.S., Oct. 28, 2009. Ban Ki- moon welcomed on Wednesday the recent inspection of Iran's new uranium enrichment site by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). (Xinhua/Shen Hong) Photo Gallery>>>

    UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed on Wednesday the recent inspection of Iran's new uranium enrichment site by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

    Speaking at his monthly press conference at UN Headquarters, Ban called the IAEA inspection this week on the Iranian enrichment site in Qom as "a positive step."

    He said that in his meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmdinejad in September, he had urged Tehran to "take this step and cooperate fully with the IAEA on all outstanding issues."

    "I also welcome the draft agreement, circulated by the IAEA, related to the supply of fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor," he said. "Agreement would constitute an important confidence-building measure and could set the stage for further advances in the negotiations."

    IAEA inspectors visited the uranium enrichment facility in Qom on Sunday, the second of its kind owned by Iran.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks at a monthly press conference at the UN headquarters in New York, the U.S., Oct. 28, 2009. Ban Ki- moon welcomed on Wednesday the recent inspection of Iran's new uranium enrichment site by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). (Xinhua/Shen Hong) Photo Gallery>>>

UN chief to send top official to Iraq on security, sovereignty

    UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday announced that he will send a top UN official to Iraq "for preliminary consultations related to Iraq's security and sovereignty."

    Ban told his monthly press conference here that he made the decision at the request of the Iraqi government. Full story

IAEA inspectors complete inspection on new uranium enrichment facility in Iran

    VIENNA, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) completed their inspection on the second uranium enrichment facility in Iran. Official results will be expected in mid-November.

    According to the Austrian media, the team of inspectors includes three men and a woman, who will return to Vienna from Tehran on Thursday morning. Full story

Iran not to ship its uranium stockpile abroad in one go

    TEHRAN, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Iran said Tuesday it will not ship all of its existing enriched uranium abroad to be processed in one go, the English language satellite Press TV reported.

    "Iran as a uranium buyer knows best how much uranium, enriched to a level of 19.75 percent, it needs," the report quoted a diplomat close to the Iranian nuclear negotiating team in Vienna. Full story

Iran to accept nuclear deal framework, demanding key changes

    TEHRAN, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Iran will accept the framework of a nuclear deal proposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) but wants significant changes into it, state-owned Arabic language Al-Alam TV reported Tuesday.

    Iran will announce its decision within the next 48 hours on the UN-drafted deal for Tehran to send low-enriched uranium abroad for further processing, the report quoted an informed source close to the negotiating team as saying. Full story

IAEA inspectors visit Iran's 2nd nuclear plant

    TEHRAN, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- A team of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visited Iran's newly-disclosed uranium enrichment plant near Qom on Sunday, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

    The IAEA inspectors, who arrived on early Sunday, are to stay in Iran until Tuesday and to visit Iran's second nuclear plant in different intervals, the report said. Full story

IAEA inspectors arrive in Iran to visit new nuclear site

Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrived in Iran on Oct.25, 2009,  in order to visit Iran's newly-disclosed uranium enrichment plant near Qom.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    The inspectors, who were expected to stay in Iran for two or three days, will visit the nuclear site near Qom later Sunday, according to their agenda announced earlier by the IAEA.

    Last month, Iran confirmed that it is building a new nuclear fuel enrichment plant near the central city of Qom. In reaction, the IAEA asked Tehran to provide detailed information and access to the new nuclear facility as soon as possible. Full story