IAEA to send inspectors to Iran

The IAEA made the announcement on Tuesday, about a month after Iran renewed its invitation to the agency\'s inspectors to visit the country\'s nuclear sites.

Earlier in the day, the Iranian envoy to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said that the hype created by the West over the beginning of enrichment activities at Iran\'s Fordo nuclear site is “exaggerated” and “politically motivated.”

On Monday, IAEA spokeswoman Gill Tudor said that the agency has confirmed that “Iran has started the production of uranium enriched up to 20 percent" at the Fordo facility, adding that "all nuclear material in the facility remains under the agency\'s containment and surveillance."

In November 2011, the IAEA issued a controversial report accusing Iran of adding a military dimension to its nuclear program. Tehran has denied the charge, insisting that its nuclear energy program is totally peaceful.

The US and its allies accuse Iran of pursuing a military nuclear program and have pressured the UN Security Council to impose four rounds of sanctions on the country.

But Tehran says that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is entitled to utilize nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.