Iran's president is accusing U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of parroting Western criticism of its new uranium enrichment facility instead of waiting for a report from the U.N. nuclear agency, Iran's U.N. Mission said Tuesday.

The Iranian mission said in a statement that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed "grave concern" during a meeting with Ban on Friday that the U.N. chief had "chosen to repeat the same allegations that (a) few Western powers are making."

Following Friday's disclosure of the new facility, Ban expressed "grave concern" about Iran's continued uranium enrichment, as did the leaders of the United States, Britain and France.

The secretary-general, asked at a news conference Tuesday about the Iranian Mission's statement, said that he responded to Ahmadinejad's criticism by telling the president that the newly disclosed facility violated U.N. Security Council resolutions.

The resolutions call for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment and return to negotiations on its nuclear program, which the U.S. and its European allies believe is aimed at producing nuclear weapons. Iran insists its program is purely peaceful and aimed solely at producing nuclear energy, which is allowed under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

Ban said he also told Ahmadinejad during Friday's meeting that Iran needs to open all its facilities to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, and be completely transparent.

"I made it quite clear that when they argue that their nuclear facilities are genuinely for peaceful purposes the burden of proof is on their side," he said.

Ahmadinejad said Friday his country has complied with requirements to inform the IAEA six months before a new enrichment facility becomes operational, and was giving 18 months notice.

Iran has agreed to allow the IAEA to inspect the new facility. At the news conference Tuesday, Ban was asked why he didn't wait for the U.N. nuclear agency to issue its report, as Ahmadinejad said.

"To be transparent and credible, when you have such an intent to build facilities, they should have informed _ notified the IAEA long time before, not just before everything would be completed," Ban replied.

"That's what I'm raising. So there is a question of transparency. That is why the world leaders have expressed their deep concern and that is why I have also expressed my concern," he said. Continued...