Iran denies N-work at military base
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Commercial satellite photo of a nuclear facility near Natanz, Iran.
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TEHRAN, Iran (Reuters) -- Iran denied on Thursday reports it was conducting sensitive nuclear activities at a military base.
"Iran's nuclear activities are entirely peaceful and Iran has not had and nor does it have military nuclear activities," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement faxed to Reuters.
Diplomats told Reuters on Thursday the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog had found undeclared components in Iran compatible with advanced uranium centrifuge designs, stoking Western concerns that Tehran may be developing nuclear weapons.
The USA Today newspaper reported on Thursday that parts for advanced "P2" uranium centrifuges -- a Pakistani version of the advanced Western "G2" design -- had been found at the Doshan Tapeh military base in Tehran.
It quoted an unnamed source saying a system at the base had been assembled and tested. Uranium centrifuges can be used to make fuel either for nuclear reactors or atomic bombs.
But the Foreign Ministry said: "In none of Iran's military centers is a nuclear programme being pursued and P2 centrifuges do not exist in such cent res."
"The P2 centrifuges are entirely a research project and have not been commissioned," he added.
Iran insists that it made a full declaration of its nuclear technology to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in October, and that its programmes are purely peaceful.
A discovery of undeclared equipment might suggest it has something to hide, possibly a weapons program.
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