Noticed by Padmassana: tourists visiting Iran might be able to add an unusual stop-off on their itinerary – a trip to one of the Islamic republic's nuclear sites. Iran’s state news agency IRNA recently reported that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has given permission for tourists to visit nuclear sites as proof that Iran's atomic activities are peaceful. To date, only United Nations atomic watchdog and reporters have been allowed to visit the sites.

“Foreign tourists can visit Iranian nuclear sites, after Dr Ahmadinejad issued an authorisation ordering this organisation to study ways to do so,” the head of Iran's Tourism and Cultural Heritage Organisation Esfandyar Rahim Mashaii said.

No details were given on the nature of the visits that would be allowed or when it would become legal for tourists to take a trip to one of the facilities. Possible attractions for tourists would include the uranium conversion facility outside Isfahan, the uranium enrichment plant in Natanz or the Islamic republic's first nuclear plant being built in the southern city of Bushehr.