Iran fury over 'US resolution'
Vol XXVI NO. 360 Sunday 14 March 2004
VIENNA: In a clear reference to the US, Iran blasted the UN nuclear watchdog yesterday for letting "a single country" impose a resolution against Tehran's nuclear programme.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ended a week-long deadlock yesterday by adopting a US-backed resolution condemning Iran for hiding nuclear activities.
"A resolution is being imposed, and I think I am using the expression with true definition of the word, on the board by a single country," senior foreign ministry official Amir Zamaninia told an IAEA meeting in Vienna, according to a copy of his speech.
Iran imposed yesterday an indefinite freeze on international inspections of its nuclear facilities in protest against a critical resolution passed by the IAEA.
Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Hasan Rowhani, described the IAEA resolution as "unfair and deceitful." Hours earlier, a meeting of the UN agency in Vienna had censured Iran for hiding suspect activities, but praised it for increased nuclear openness.
A senior Western diplomat said the compromise text worked out after non-aligned states sought to soften the resolution was "still an important signal for the Iranians to continue and intensify cooperation" with the IAEA. But Zamaninia said the resolution was "a serious setback" as it portrayed" a rather benign progressive situation as a condition of high alert." He said IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei has already reported "the positive trend of active co-operation by Iran and also a process of resolving issues that is gaining pace exponentially".
The resolution that was adopted came a day after Iran had put off a UN inspection mission until the end of April in what one diplomat close to the IAEA described as "potentially a large problem in the verification process."
But Iranian ambassador to the IAEA Pirooz Hosseini said yesterday that IAEA inspectors could in fact visit Iran earlier than the end of next month.
Hosseini said his country had put back the inspection mission, scheduled to start this week, "due to the approach of the Iranian New Year" but that if people were back in their offices soon after the holiday, which starts next week, then IAEA inspectors could come.
The IAEA, which verifies the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), has since February 2003 been working to determine whether Iran's nuclear programme is peaceful, or devoted to secretly developing atomic weapons, as the United States has charged.
"Today IAEA inspectors were expected to arrive in Iran," Rowhani said. "We will not allow them to come until Iran sets a new date for their visit. This is a protest by Iran in reaction to the resolution."
Asked whether the freeze was indefinite, Rowhani said "yes."
ElBaradei said he was confident Iran would reverse a decision to temporarily suspend inspections of its suspect nuclear facilities.
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