Watchdog 'bowed to pressure from Iran' on bomb materials (IAEA STOOGES)

The world nuclear watchdog dropped a claim that Iran bought large quantities of a metal used to trigger explosions in atomic weapons after bowing to objections from Teheran.

The International Atomic Energy Agency at first accepted Western intelligence reports that the Islamic republic had bought "huge amounts" of beryllium from "a number of nations", but removed the claim from its final report on Iranian compliance with nuclear non-proliferation rules, published 10 days ago.

IAEA Director General Mohammad ElBaradei An earlier draft of the IAEA report, seen by The Telegraph, said that Iran had manufactured material to use with the beryllium that it had purchased as a "nuclear initiator in some designs of nuclear weapons".

A spokesman for the IAEA conceded that the agency had removed any mention of beryllium from its report, but said that the change was insignificant. She said: "There are all kinds of technical details in first drafts which are later removed. That's part of the drafting process."

Jacky Sanders, the American ambassador to the IAEA, however, said that Iran's assertions that it has never acquired or used beryllium were no longer reliable.

The climbdown by the IAEA reflected Teheran's insistence that it had never acquired or used beryllium, and helped Iran escape immediate referral to the UN Security Council over its nuclear ambitions. Instead, the IAEA board passed a resolution demanding that the country suspend uranium enrichment while the agency inspects declared nuclear sites.

The compromise agreement has been heavily criticised by American officials and others for failing to compel Iran to open all suspected sites to nuclear inspectors on demand. The IAEA last week revealed that Iran had refused access to two military bases where it is said to be developing nuclear material and missiles capable of carrying an atom bomb. The deal permitted inspections of Iran's existing civilian nuclear energy production sites only.

Western intelligence agencies have intercepted documents suggesting that Iran purchased equipment for delivery to the Parchin military base and a second facility at Lavisan. Satellite photographs suggested that weapons are being tested at the sites. The head of the IAEA, Mohammad ElBaradei said that Iran had repeatedly rejected requests to visit the sites. "We are following every credible piece of information," he said. "It takes time."

Iranian officials claim that they are not obliged to open up the facilities to weapons inspectors. "There is nothing required for us to do," said one Vienna-based official. "They should have evidence that there are nuclear activities, not just, 'We heard from someone that there is dual-use equipment that we want to see'."

The IAEA head, Mohammad ElBaradei, yesterday denied that he had collaborated with the Iranians to expunge the beryllium charge. He said: "We don't negotiate our report. At the end of the day not a single paragraph is shown to any single country until the report is out."

North Korea 'has six nuclear bombs' (built from material “monitored” by El Baradei & IAEA)

Sydney Morning Herald ^ | December 7, 2004 | David Sanger, William Broad and Cynthia Banham

Posted on 12/06/2004 6:56:56 AM PST by dead

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency is convinced North Korea has built four to six nuclear bombs out of the nuclear material the agency had monitored there until 2002.

Mohamed ElBaradei, whose team of investigators was expelled from North Korea, said: "We know they have the fissile material ... I'm sure they have reprocessed it all."

He said enough time had passed for North Korea to solve the problems of turning the 8000 spent nuclear fuel rods the agency was monitoring into weapons-grade plutonium. "The production process is not that difficult."

He said his claim was not based on new intelligence but on the agency's extensive knowledge of the country. A spokesman for the US National Security Council, Sean McCormack, said he was unaware of any change in the official assessment of North Korea.

Dr ElBaradei's comments go beyond anything the CIA or the US President, George Bush, have said publicly and puts pressure on the White House to either take forcible action against North Korea or cut a deal.

The US insists North Korea has enough nuclear material to make only one or two weapons and that it cannot afford to sell its plutonium or conduct a nuclear test. However, that assessment is based on estimates from the early 1990s and has been contested behind the scenes.

A former senior State Department official, Robert Einhorn, said the comments would "certainly create some pressure" on Mr Bush. "Would the North Koreans ever sell their plutonium? It becomes more plausible if they think we are turning the screws on them," he said.

North Korea agreed in 1994 to freeze plutonium production but in 2002 renounced the deal and ejected the International Atomic Energy Agency after the US accused it of trying to produce highly enriched uranium.

Since then the US had been working with China, South Korea, Japan and Russia to negotiate the dismantling of North Korea's weapons program, but the talks stalled in September. They are expected to resume next year.

Last month the commander of US forces in South Korea, General Leon LaPorte, said he was increasingly worried "North Korea, in its desire for hard currency, would sell weapons-grade plutonium to some terrorist organisations".

Labor's foreign affairs spokesman, Kevin Rudd, said Dr ElBaradei's assessment was profoundly disturbing.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister, John Howard, said Mr Howard declined to comment.

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has defended his decision not to allow international investigators to interrogate Dr A.Q.Khan, the Pakistani scientist accused of peddling nuclear secrets.

In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Mr Musharraf said requests from UN weapons inspectors indicated a lack of trust in Pakistan. "We can question him the best ... This man is a hero for the Pakistanis," he said.

The New York Times, The Washington Post

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Keep up on all the major developments in Iran