Iran calls on IAEA to clarify Saudis' secret nuclear program

"Despite the fact that Saudi Arabia is an NPT member and has a mutual agreement with the IAEA, but it avoids accepting IAEA's investigations and does not allow any research on its nuclear activities," he said noting that Saudi Arabia is developing and implementing an obscure nuclear program.

Adding that Saudi Arabia has no active research reactor to make it capable of building the yellowcake, he said such secret moves are threatening regional security.

He underlined that there are some concerns about Saudi Arabia's development of a secret nuclear weapons program.

Gharibabadi urged Saudi Arabia to stay transparent and committed to its IAEA obligations.

He said that the international community will react to any threat made to international peace.

Saudi Arabia has built a facility for the extraction of uranium yellowcake, a potential precursor to fuel for a nuclear reactor, in a remote desert location near the small city of Al Ula, the Wall Street Journal newspaper reported citing Western officials with knowledge of the site.

The facility, which has not been publicly acknowledged, has raised concern that the kingdom's nascent nuclear program is moving ahead, and Riyadh is keeping open an option to develop nuclear weapons, according to the report.

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