Iran sticks to its guns on nuclear report
By RFE/RL
The United States has called the latest report on Iran by the United Nations'
nuclear watchdog "troubling to all who care about nonproliferation and global
security".
In a report released on September 6, the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) says Iran is hampering the agency's work by barring some inspectors and
pushing ahead with its nuclear program in defiance of tougher sanctions.
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said the report "again demonstrates that
Iran is refusing to comply with its international nuclear obligations and
continues its effort to expand its nuclear
program and move closer to a nuclear weapons capability".
However, Iran's envoy to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said the report had
tarnished the agency's "technical reputation" and was "not balanced".
Iran's Mehr news agency quoted Soltanieh as adding that the report confirmed
Tehran had not diverted nuclear material toward military purposes or the
creation of a nuclear weapon. He insisted that all of Iran's nuclear activities
were under the IAEA's "complete supervision".
Soltanieh's comments were echoed by Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin
Mehmanparast, who said: "[The IAEA] director general has emphasized in this
report for the 23rd time that there has been no diversion in Iran's peaceful
nuclear program."
He continued by saying the IAEA should look instead at Israel, which is widely
believed to hold the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal.
Mehmanparast also said the latest IAEA report would have "no impact on our
future cooperation with the agency and our commitments to international rules
and regulations."
The United States and other Western powers suspect Iran is trying to develop
nuclear weapons, while Tehran insists its nuclear program is solely for energy
production.
'Repeated' objections
In its latest report, the IAEA report voices concern about what it calls Iran's
"repeated" objections to its choice of some inspectors, saying this "detracts
from the agency's capability to implement effective and efficient safeguards in
Iran."
In June, Iran barred two experienced inspectors after they reported what they
called undeclared nuclear experiments.
Speaking to the ISNA news agency, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy
Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, said Iran had barred the two inspectors because
they had filed reports that "were contrary to reality." He said Tehran had the
right to bar some UN inspectors from monitoring its disputed nuclear program.
Iran has denied access to a senior inspector in the past and objected to other
appointments.
Soltanieh told the Associated Press that the IAEA currently had 150 inspectors
able to work in Iran and pointed out that the report mentioned the country had
approved five additional inspectors. That, he said, was a "clear indication"
that Tehran has cooperated with the IAEA.
Mixed signals
The 11-page IAEA document also says Iran continues to enrich uranium in
contravention of UN Security Council demands and despite additional sanctions
imposed earlier this year.
It says Iran has produced around 2.8 tons of low-enriched uranium, up from 2.4
tons in May.
According to the IAEA, enrichment for what Tehran says will be fuel for a
research reactor has produced about 22 kilograms of 20%-enriched uranium. Such
material can be turned into weapons-grade material more quickly than
low-enriched uranium.
The Iranian leadership has repeatedly rejected international demands that the
country halt sensitive enrichment activity and has sent mixed signals about its
readiness to negotiate with the West.
The quarterly report also says that Iran continued to stonewall the agency in
its efforts to follow up on intelligence indicating past experiments meant to
develop a nuclear weapons program.
It also says there had been cases when agency seals had been broken at Iran's
Natanz enrichment plant. Iran said they were accidental, but the IAEA said it
would look into the issue.
In reaction to the report, China expressed hope that Iran and the IAEA could
fully cooperate and "establish the trust of the international community in the
peaceful nature of their nuclear plants".
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu also voiced hope for increased diplomatic
efforts and a speedy resumption of talks aimed at seeking a resolution to the
Iran nuclear issue.
Meanwhile, six countries across the Persian Gulf called on Iran to cooperate
with the IAEA, saying they wanted Tehran to help efforts to make the Middle
East a region free of weapons of mass destruction.
The statement was issued by the Gulf Cooperation Council, a loose political and
economic alliance that groups Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain,
Qatar, Kuwait and Oman.
Written by Antoine Blua, with contributions from RFE/RL's Radio Farda and
agency reports.
Copyright (c) 2010, RFE/RL Inc. Reprinted with the permission of
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