RIYADH – The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Sunday called for international inspectors to be sent to Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant over concerns of possible radiation leaks after an earthquake hit the area. GCC demanded the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “send a specialized technical team to inspect the Bushehr nuclear plant and investigate potential damage,” GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif Al-Zayani told an emergency meeting of Gulf officials. A 6.1 magnitude quake hit Iran Tuesday at a depth of 12 kilometers (7.5 miles), in the area of Kaki, according to the Iranian Seismological Center. Al-Zayani said the earthquake would “sound alarm bells over the safety of a nuclear plant situated in an area with high seismic activity,” urging Iran to commit to international safety standards. He warned of the “deep concern among GCC states and the international community about the potential risk that any damage to Iran's nuclear plant could cause radiation leaks.” The GCC states had already “warned that radiation leaks from Bushehr plant could have damaging effects on the natural environment in the Gulf region,” he said. Al-Zayani said and the six Gulf Arab states have previously urged Tehran to ensure its facility complies with international safety standards and join the Convention on Nuclear Safety, but Tehran did not show any sign it understood international concerns over its nuclear program. Iran is the only country operating a nuclear power plant that does not belong to the convention, negotiated after the 1986 nuclear disaster in Chernobyl which contaminated a wide area and made 160,000 Ukrainians homeless. Iran sits on major fault lines and has suffered several devastating earthquakes, including a 6.6-magnitude quake in 2003 which flattened the southeastern city of Bam and killed more than 25,000 people. The Tuesday quake killed 37 people and injured 850 others, Iranian authorities said, and was felt in nearby Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Iran said it informed the IAEA there had been no damage to the nuclear power plant in Bushehr, nearly 90 kilometers (55 miles) northwest of the earthquake's epicentre. The Bushehr plant has yet to become fully operational, as its construction has suffered a number of delays and setbacks. – Agencies
