Iran welcomes 'positive' IAEA nuclear report

"Fortunately the current IAEA report has been more positive than the earlier ones due to the new approach of the Islamic republic," the head of Iran's nuclear energy organisation Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted by state television's news website as saying.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Friday in a study obtained by AFP that Iran has slowed production of enriched uranium and agreed to tighter monitoring of its enrichment plant.

Tehran has also granted UN inspectors access to a research reactor long out of bounds, the restricted report revealed.

Enriched uranium can be used to make nuclear fuel, but can also become the fissile material for an atomic bomb.

Iran is suspected of trying to develop atomic weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear programme, a charge Tehran strongly denies.

The IAEA estimates that Iran has so far amassed 1,508 kilogrammes of low-enriched uranium hexafluoride (UF6), up from 1,339 kilogrammes in June.

Estimates vary, but analysts calculate that anywhere between 1,000-1,700 kilogrammes of low-enriched uranium would be needed to convert it into highly-enriched uranium suitable to make a single atomic bomb.

"This report mentions that Iran has not halted its uranium enrichment which we consider to be our right," said Salehi, who is also an Iranian vice president.

"Nowadays the IAEA's inspectors comprehensively and constantly visit our nuclear facilities; there are even resident inspectors in Iran and nothing is covered for the IAEA," he added.

IAEA inspectors said that while Iran is still installing uranium-enriching centrifuges at Natanz, the number of machines in use has been reduced.

A total of 4,592 centrifuges were actively enriching uranium, compared with 4,920 at the time of the IAEA's last report in June. However, the number of machines installed had been increased by around 1,000 to 8,308.