IAEA Calls Special Session on Iran 's Nuclear Plans

The U.N. nuclear agency said Friday it will hold an emergency executive meeting next week to persuade Iran to continue negotiations with European powers on an incentive package aimed at getting Iran to halt some of its nuclear activities. The meeting comes as Tehran is threatening to restart processing of some nuclear materials. IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said the 35-nation board is acting at the request of Britain, France and Germany, the three countries negotiating a deal to induce Iran to scale back its nuclear ambitions. "Three countries of the EU have called for a special session of the board of governors and its now scheduled for next Tuesday and the topic will, of course, be Iran," she said. The three European powers took this unusual step after Iran declared it would defy an agreement with them and resume uranium processing. Tehran then agreed to a delay to enable IAEA inspectors to get equipment up and running to monitor the activities, but insisted the work would go ahead.

The last time the IAEA called an emergency session was two years ago after its inspectors were forced out of North Korea by the communist regime. The IAEA board decided then to send the matter to the U.N. Security Council where it is still pending. Many members of the IAEA board oppose giving Iran an ultimatum and instead want inspectors to continue verifying Tehran's nuclear program that was kept secret for decades. The United States maintains Iran has been hiding a nuclear weapons program, and, along with Canada and other countries, backs the idea of sending the Iran nuclear file to the Security Council for possible sanctions. But other nations represented on the IAEA board, including Brazil, India and Pakistan, are more sympathetic to Iran's claim that it has a right to the peaceful development of nuclear technology.

The European Union countries prefer to negotiate with Tehran and they have offered incentives, such as sharing nuclear power-generation technology, to make sure Iran does not develop an atomic weapon. The three countries have drawn up a sweeping new package to induce Iran to cooperate. But Iran has become impatient with the slow pace of the negotiations and threaten to resume some nuclear activities that it had agreed to suspend. Diplomats say the board's emergency session aims to make Tehran understand that its defiance could result in an escalation of the dispute. But they say it's unlikely the board will agree to refer Iran to the Security Council. According to diplomats, the board may agree, however, to send the case to the Security Council at its next regular meeting in September if Iran continues to defy IAEA rules.

"Don't look for any action anytime soon."

There is so much evidence that the Iranians cannot dismiss away... The Iranians have violated the NPT far worse than Sadam ever did! Now you still might be right but if you are, sanctions don't have much to do with the facts...

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Satellite image of the uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, Iran (Image: Digital Globe, Annotation: ISIS)

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Iran allowed International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to visit the Parchin military site in January in the interests of transparency following the allegations, but the visit was limited to only one of four areas identified as being of potential interest and to only five buildings in that area. On 01 March 2005 Iran turned down a request by the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency to make a second visit to the Parchin military site, which has been linked in allegations to nuclear weapons testing.

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On 17 May 2003 the National Council of Resistance of Iran reported that "During the Khatami's presidency, the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics formed a new biological weapons center to expand biological bomb. That was called Malek Ashtar University and is based in Lavizan Shian Technological Research Center

Imagery from August 2003 reveals large buildings inside a secure perimeter, while imagery from March 2004 shows that the buildings have been dismantled, the rubble removed, and the earth scrapedCommercial imagery acquired in March 2004 revealed that a facility at this location had been completely dismantled, with the vegetation removed and ground scraped clear./p>

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International concerns are growing over the extent and purpose of Iran's nuclear industry. Iran says its intentions are purely peaceful. But while some sites appear dedicated to developing nuclear energy, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says the role of others is less clear.

### Iran Smugling Nuclear Matter!

Click image to view a short AP film.

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Iran has declared that Kalaye Electric, in Tehran, was a primary centrifuge research and development, and manufacturing site until operations moved to the Natanz site in 2002. The name "Kalaye Electric" means "electric goods," implying that the name was chosen to help disguise the true purpose of the facility.

Investigation into the site began after the publication of open source information about possible enrichment activities at the Kalaye Electric Company in Tehran. The first to name the facility publicly was the National Council for Resistance of Iran (NCRI). On February 20, 2003 they said the facility was located at Km 2.5 Ab-Ali Highway, next to Chemi Daroo Company

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The construction at the ARAK site complicates negotiations currently underway between the European Union and Iran. The Europeans are asking that Iran abandon all uranium enrichment activities, reprocessing-related activities, and the heavy water reactor project. The Europeans have offered to replace the heavy water reactor with a light water research reactor that would be more proliferation resistant. The spent fuel from this imported reactor could be sent out of Iran, a step that Iran has agreed to do with the fuel from the Russian-supplied Bushehr power reactors.

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