1:02pm UK, Tuesday January 04, 2011
Iran has invited several foreign United Nations ambassadors to visit nuclear facilities in the Islamic Republic.
The ambassadors may get to visit Bushehr, Iran's first nuclear power plant
The invitation to ambassadors at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is timed ahead of a meeting in Turkey with Russia, China, the US, France, Britain and Germany to discuss fears that Iran is building nuclear weapons, something it denies.
Iran's Foreign Ministry said: "The new move of inviting the ambassadors of different countries to visit our nuclear facilities has once again shown the goodwill of our country regarding co-operation and peaceful nuclear activities."
Foreign Matters Blog 
However, in what appears to be a calculated snub, the invitation to visit did not extend to the US.
The move appears to be designed to try to divide Russia, China and the EU countries from America.
Russia, China, France and the UK are permanent members of the UN Security Council and have the right of veto on Security Council resolutions.
Iran's chief of atomic energy speaks at an IAEA meeting in September 2010
Efforts to persuade Iran not to enrich uranium have completely failed and many countries are contemplating another round of sanctions.
After a year without negotiations, talks are due at the end of this month.
Iran seems to be trying to present itself in the best possible light ahead of the meeting. But by only inviting ambassadors it is not really giving very much.
Ambassadors to the IAEA are usually career diplomats and not scientists.
Therefore even if they did tour nuclear facilities, they would be unable to cast an expert eye on what they saw.
It is unlikely the Iranians would allow a large delegation of scientists to accompany them.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office appeared unimpressed by the latest invite, telling Sky News that Iran is still defying multiple UN Security Council Resolutions and failing to cooperate fully with the IAEA.
"Iran needs to engage seriously and constructively with the IAEA and through talks on its nuclear programme with the E3+3," the FCO stated.
"A tightly controlled visit of selected facilities is unlikely to provide the assurances needed by the international community."
Iran has spent the last decade buying time, this latest offer of goodwill is almost certainly part of that strategy and looks like a classic divide and delay tactic.
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