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Iran under renewed pressure from UN nuke watchdog
Jordan Times, Sunday, September 28, 2003
TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran came under renewed pressure Saturday from the UN nuclear watchdog, whose chief demanded "full and complete cooperation" over its atomic energy programme, not just statements of goodwill. Asked about the likelihood of Tehran conforming to an Oct. 31 deadline set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for it to come clean on its alleged nuclear weapons programme, Mohammad Al Baradei told CNN he was cautious.
"I hope so, I hope at least that I will not be in a position to report that I am not getting the full cooperation and transparency from Iran.
"There is a degree of impatience on the part of the international community that this issue cannot continue for ever. If not, I am afraid that the issue will escalate beyond the confines of the agency," he added.
Tehran, however, has insisted on sticking to its own calendar.
"We will respond when it will be necessary, before or after the 31st of October," a foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday. "The resolution is being examined by the concerned officials and this examination is not yet finished."
The foreign minister himself, Kamal Kharazi, has said that Iran only wants to produce enriched uranium to avoid reliance on supplies of nuclear fuel from Russia — which is building Iran's first nuclear reactor.
"It is not our policy to have nuclear weapons because we don't believe it will bring security in Iran," he said in New York this week.
Despite Tehran's obstinacy, Baradei refused to be drawn into speculation on what might happen if the matter were referred to the UN Security Council, which could slap sanctions on the Islamic republic.
"I hope that the issue will not have to be brought to the Security Council. I hope that Iran will cooperate and take whatever corrective measures needed for us to be able to present a positive report," he said.
"They say their programme is for peaceful purposes, and if they really have nothing to hide it is (up) to them to open all their facilities and all their books," he said.
"We need to act fast and with the full force that this issue requires.
"They need to understand this is not an ultimatum ... this is an opportunity to come clean through telling us everything they have done.
Nevertheless, Baradei conceded that there were "a lot of worrying signs" that Iran's nuclear activities are not civilian only.
In August, IAEA inspectors discovered more traces of highly enriched uranium, a development that could strengthen US claims that Tehran is secretly trying to make a nuclear bomb.
Knowing whether Iran has or has not enriched uranium without declaring it to the IAEA is "our number one priority," Baradei said.
The UN agency wants Tehran to account for the traces that could be weapons-grade, found at a facility in Natanz, 250 kilometres south of Tehran, and at the Kalaye Electric Co. near the capital.
Iran's insistence that they came from contaminated secondhand components imported from abroad, is "one of the scenarios we have to look at," Baradei said.
Pulling out of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, increasingly advocated amongst conservative circles in Iran, would "embark the international community on another major confrontation," the director general warned.
The Iraqi experience, he said, showed that it was not the “best way to go.”
The IAEA last month gave Iran until October 31 to answer all its questions concerning allegations that it is seeking to develop atomic weapons.
On Friday, a UN nuclear monitoring mission to Iran was postponed to give Tehran more time to prepare for the visit, a day after Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said the ultimatum was “unjust.”
Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran's representative to the IAEA, was quoted by the state news agency IRNA as saying they will now take place on Oct. 2.
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| Earth, a planet hungry for peace |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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