Iran urged to boost nuke safety review after quake

Tehran says no damage to reactor from 6.1 magnitude tremor, which killed 37 a hundred kilometers from Bushehr station

An Iranian woman sits among the rubble of buildings after an earthquake struck southern Iran, in Shonbeh, Iran, Tuesday, April 9, 2013. (AP/Fars News Agency, Mohammad Fatemi)
An Iranian woman sits among the rubble of buildings after an earthquake struck southern Iran, in Shonbeh, Iran, Tuesday, April 9, 2013. (AP/Fars News Agency, Mohammad Fatemi)

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — The head of the Gulf states’ main political bloc is urging Iran to join an international accord on nuclear safety following an earthquake near the country’s lone energy-producing reactor.

Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, opened a meeting Sunday in Riyadh to discuss nuclear safety issues after last week’s 6.1 magnitude quake about 96 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Bushehr, the site of Iran’s reactor.

The quake killed at least 37 people. Iran says there was no damage to the reactor and insists it was built to withstand far stronger quakes.

Al-Zayani urged Iran to join the UN’s Convention on Nuclear Safety, which allows greater review by the UN’s atomic watchdog agency. But Iran is part of other UN pacts to report any nuclear accidents.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

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