US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has given a cautious welcome to Iran's announcement that it will open a newly revealed nuclear plant to inspection.

Speaking in New York, Mrs Clinton said it was always welcome when Iran decided to comply with international rules.

The US, France and UK accused Tehran of deception after it admitted to the existence of the facility on Monday.

Iran says the uranium enrichment plant, near the city of Qom, is in line with UN regulations.

It maintains it wants atomic power only for the production of electricity.

But the revelations have raised tension ahead of next Thursday's talks in Geneva between Iran and six global powers negotiating over Tehran's atomic programme.

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By JOE LAURIA

UNITED NATIONS -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Friday denied his government had violated International Atomic Energy Agency rules by failing to disclose a nuclear enrichment facility under construction in Iran and said the U.S. and its allies would "regret " confronting Tehran about it.

"It seems to me that what was done was a real mistake:  When the IAEA report finally comes out they will definitely feel sorry about their move," Mr. Ahmadinejad said at a press conference in New York. "They probably already regret and will regret it more down the road because in the end of the day, this is a very ordinary facility and it is only in the beginning stages."

But a few hours later in a New York hotel with a specially invited list of U.N.-based journalists, Mr. Ahmadinejad said, "What we did is completely legal."

He said IAEA regulations require a country declare the existence of new a nuclear enrichment facility only six months before enrichment begins.

"If you want to build the building you can do that, if you want to lay the pipes you can do that [and only] six months before you start processing itself—not even when you are installing the enrichment equipment—you need to inform the IAEA so it is prepared to begin its inspection program."

By informing the IAEA on Monday Iran beat this deadline by a year, the Iranian president said. "Now is this the right thing or the wrong thing to do?" he asked. "It is not a secret facility. If it was, why did we inform the IAEA a year ahead of time?"

Mr. Ahmadinejad said he would allow IAEA inspectors to visit the site.

U.S. officials said the three Western leaders went public because Iran learned that the U.S. had long been aware of the undeclared site.

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