Iranian ambassador to IAEA says there is ´no justification´ to close Fordow facility. ´If you have a secure place under IAEA control, why are you telling me that I should close it?´ he tells reporters

Iran said on Friday it will never suspend its uranium enrichment program and sees no reason to close the Fordow underground site, making clear Tehran´s red lines in talks with world powers later this month.

Last month a senior US official said the United States and its allies would demand that Iran halt higher-grade enrichment and immediately close the Fordow facility at talks over Tehran´s nuclear standoff with the West.

But Iran´s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, told Reuters he saw "no justification" for closing Fordow, which he said was under IAEA surveillance.

"When you have a safe place, secure place under IAEA control, then why do you tell me that I should close it?" he said, making clear Iran built the site to better protect its nuclear work against any Israeli or US attacks.

"Fordow is a safe place. We have spent a lot of money and time to have a safe place," Soltanieh added.

Iran and major powers resumed talks in mid-April in Istanbul after a gap of more than a year - a chance to ease escalating tension and help to avert the threat of a new Middle East war. They are to meet again on May 23 in Baghdad. The West says Iran´s nuclear work is a cover for developing atomic bombs and wants verifiable assurances to the contrary from Tehran - for example, by accepting much more intrusive UN nuclear inspections and limiting its enrichment capacity.

Iran denies having a weapons agenda, saying it is enriching uranium solely for peaceful energy purposes.

"One thing is clear: the enrichment in Iran will never be suspended," Soltanieh said. (Copyright 2012 © Yedioth Internet 05/04/12)