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Iran Still Hasn't Signed Nuke Agreement
Times Leader ^ | December 4, 2003 | The Associated Press

Posted on 12/04/2003 4:19:09 PM PST by Pan_Yans Wife

Despite mounting Western pressure and the implicit threat of sanctions, Iran still has not signed a key agreement to open its nuclear facilities to intrusive inspections, the U.N. atomic energy watchdog said Thursday.

Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said he expected Iran to sign the accord "shortly." But a Western diplomat suggested that Tehran was stalling, and said the United States and other countries were waiting impatiently "for Iran to keep its promises and sign."

Iran agreed last month to open suspect nuclear sites that until now have been off-limits, and to let IAEA inspectors conduct unannounced checks to ensure the country is not trying to develop atomic weaponry as alleged by Washington.

In a resolution last week that warned Tehran to stay in line with international efforts to make sure the country has no nuclear weapons ambitions, the Vienna-based IAEA's 35-nation board censured Iran for 18 years of secrecy.

Although the resolution did not confront Iran with a direct threat of U.N. sanctions - a tougher approach that Washington had sought - it warned Tehran that the IAEA would consider further action if "further serious Iranian failures" should be found.

The wording implicitly warned Iran that the agency could report it to the Security Council, which has the power to impose economic or diplomatic sanctions. It called on Tehran to "promptly and unconditionally sign, ratify and fully implement" the accord, but did not set a deadline.

The diplomat, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, did not say whether the United States or other countries were contemplating lodging a protest aimed at pressuring Iran to sign.

In a sign of possible disarray within the government over how to respond to the IAEA, Tehran's representative to the agency, Ali Akbar Salehi, told the AP on Thursday that he had been relieved of his duties. He did not elaborate.

Iran insists its atomic energy program is peaceful and geared only to producing electricity. Under international pressure, it agreed to sign the inspection agreement and to suspend its enrichment of uranium, which it says had been confined to non-weapons levels anyway.

ElBaradei told reporters the agency was developing a "plan of action" over the next few months on how to deal with Iran.

He said agency experts were now in the process of contacting companies that sold Iran centrifuges and other equipment that bore traces of highly enriched, weapons-grade uranium. Iran contends the equipment already was contaminated when it acquired it. ElBaradei declined to identify the companies or the countries involved.

"We still have a lot of work to do, and a lot of work is in progress," he said.

Although there has been evidence of suspect nuclear activity in Iran, ElBaradei characterized it as "laboratory-scale involving small quantities" and expressed confidence that his agency would uncover any significant effort to enrich uranium for weapons use.

"There will always be a centrifuge somewhere. But we can detect industrial-scale activities," he said. "If a country moves from research and development to the industrial scale, it's highly unlikely that would go undetected."

ElBaradei also said he hopes his inspectors will return soon to neighboring Iraq. He said he expected the Security Council to give the agency a fresh inspection mandate early next year.

The U.N. agency found no evidence that Saddam Hussein was trying to revive his atomic weapons program before the war, but "we still need to verify that Iraq does not have nuclear weapons of mass destruction," ElBaradei said.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: iaea; iran; mrnu; pyw

1 posted on 12/04/2003 4:19:10 PM PST by Pan_Yans Wife
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To: Pan_Yans Wife
Join Us At Today's Iranian Alert Thread – The Most Underreported Story Of The Year!

Click on the link above!

"If you want on or off this Iran ping list, Freepmail DoctorZin”


2 posted on 12/05/2003 12:28:46 AM PST by DoctorZIn (Until they are free, we shall all be Iranians!)
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