Azernews.Az

TEHRAN – Iran intends to start operating a second uranium enrichment plant by the summer, according to a new report that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued on Friday.

The report also said the Vienna-based agency had received new information recently that is related to possible work on nuclear weapons development in Iran, dpa reported.

The second plant that Tehran's leaders want to operate reportedly is at an underground location near Quom, which Iran kept secret until September 2009.

The IAEA noted that no centrifuges have been installed there yet, but a senior official close to the Iran investigation said: "If they want to work quickly, they can."

The restricted document, which was obtained by the German Press Agency dpa, additionally showed that Iran continues turning out enriched uranium at its existing plant in Natanz, despite signs that the Stuxnet computer virus - reportedly planted by foreign agents - is still causing technical problems.

The United Nations Security Council has demanded that Iran stop enriching, as this technology can be used not only to make nuclear reactor fuel, as Iran claims, but also weapons material.

The report did not mention the Stuxnet virus, but the senior official said "several hundred" centrifuges had been replaced, and the repair work was still ongoing.

But despite these difficulties and a one-day outage at Natanz in November, "the production rate hasn't changed significantly," the official said.