TEHRAN: "We have nothing hidden and underground," Iran's Energy Minister Parviz Fatah said about his country's nuclear energy programme, to a visiting Indian delegation on Tuesday.

Mr. Fatah said there had been no diversion of enriched uranium from its nuclear power stream to any weapons' programme.

"Since we have not diverted anything, we see no reason to suspend our uranium enrichment process," Mr. Fatah maintained, referring to repeated demands from the United Nations Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to suspend uranium enrichment.

The Minister said that Iran was currently operating 3,000 centrifuges at its Natanz facility and hoped to raise their number to 60,000. He claimed that IAEA officials had visited Natanz and their surveillance cameras remained in place.

Iran hoped to announce soon that it was operating 60,000 centrifuges. "Whatever we are doing is under IAEA supervision," Mr. Fatah claimed.

He revealed that Iran would soon be signing contracts to set up two nuclear power plants. Its goal was to be in a position to generate 20,000 MWe of nuclear power.

Referring to Iran's decision to participate in an international conference on Iraq in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, Mr. Fatah maintained that it was Washington that had requested Tehran's presence at the meeting.

"Without Iran's participation, they [the United States and its allies] cannot be successful in Iraq," the 55-year-old Minister declared.

According to him, since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the U.S. had done its utmost to undermine Tehran's interests.

He observed that the U.S. and its friends had been defeated in Iraq and Lebanon.

"So, you, can see the results of their [American] policies towards Iran," the Minister maintained, pointing to the fact that Iran had emerged as a strong and independent nation, whose voice counted in regional stabilisation.

On the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, Mr. Fatah felt that this was possible if there was no outside interference.

"The problem comes when other countries interfere," he said, in a clear reference to the pressure mounted by the U.S. on India and Pakistan not to push ahead with the pipeline.

Pointing out that Iran was delivering gas to Turkey and would next week sign a contract to sell gas to the European Union, the Minister said this was being done despite the problems Tehran had with the Union.

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