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United Nations and Iranian officials have been secretly negotiating a deal to persuade world powers to lift sanctions and allow Tehran to retain the bulk of its nuclear program in return for cooperation with U.N. inspectors. According to a draft document seen by The Times of London, the 13-point agreement was drawn up in September by Mohamed ElBaradei, the directorgeneral of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in an effort to break the stalemate over Iran’s nuclear program before he stands down at the end of this month. The IAEA denied the existence of the document, which was leaked to The...

IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei resigns!

[An AT classic from 2007, very relevant today.] Al Gore's Nobel may very well turn out to be the beginning of the end for global warming. How's that, you say? Surely Al and the International Panel on Climate Control, armed as they now are with the great cachet of the Nobel, will sweep away all oil-company-inspired opposition and bring the Green revolution to completion. We'll all be riding unicycles to work and recycling our nail clippings come next Tuesday, and be happy doing it, lest Al, watching from the big house in Nashville, be made unhappy and give orders to...

Conservatives for years have been contending that the United Nations is a useless, ineffective organization that caters to dictators and rouge nations. In an interview yesterday International Atomic Energy Agency (an independent organization that reports to the UN) director-general Mohamed ElBaradei spoke about the security in the Middle East. He also identified what he saw as it’s greatest threat. Was it Iran? No. Syria? Nope. Lebannon or Lybia? Not even close. Al Quaeda? No. Hamas? No.

TEHRAN, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei said Sunday that "Israel is number one threat to Middle East" with its nuclear arms, the official IRNA news agency reported.

TEHRAN, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei said Sunday that "Israel is number one threat to Middle East" with its nuclear arms, the official IRNA news agency reported. ...

Iran: The suspicious re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad means more inflexibility from Tehran on its nuclear program. Even feckless UN nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei sees it.Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, this week admitted to the BBC: "It is my gut feeling that Iran would like to have the technology to enable it to have nuclear weapons. They want to send a message to their neighbors, to the rest of the world: 'Don't mess with us.' " In spite of this too little, too late epiphany, the IAEA head still blames us, calling nuclear technology "an insurance policy...

Israel would be "utterly insane" to attack Iran, outgoing International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei said in an interview with German daily Der Spiegel Saturday. "That would turn the region into one great fireball, and the Iranians would immediately begin building the bomb - with the support of the entire Islamic world."

Video at source.

VIENNA - Iran could gain the capability to make a nuclear weapon in 2-5 years but there is ample time to deal with the concern, the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog said in a televised interview. Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of the Vienna-based U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that after stockpiling enriched uranium, Iran would face further technical and political hurdles should it seek to build nuclear arms. "There is a concern, but don't hype the concern," ElBaradei, alluding mainly to U.S. and Israeli warnings, said in a CNN interview broadcast late Sunday. "There is ample time...

Efforts by the international community to isolate Iran in hopes of curbing its nuclear weapons program have failed, the head of the United Nations watchdog told the Los Angeles Times on Saturday. Mohamed ElBaradei, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the newspaper that the sanctions regime imposed by members of the United Nations Security Council has not prevented the Islamic republic from accumulating technology and know-how that could be used to build atomic weapons.

The chief UN nuclear inspector said Monday that Syria had a right to his agency's help in planning a power-producing atomic reactor, in what diplomats described as a rejection of US-led efforts to block the aid. The clash reflected tensions between Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the UN nuclear agency, and key Western nations over whether Syria should be given potentially sensitive nuclear guidance at a time when it is being investigated. Russia, China and developing nations also back the aid project, said diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the International Atomic Energy Agency...

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei has dismissed tougher sanctions against Iran as ineffective. In an interview with the London-based Azzaman newspaper published on Saturday, ElBaradei said, “In my opinion new sanctions will not resolve Iran’s nuclear dispute.” He went on to say that a military attack against Iran is the worst alternative to end the standoff between Iran and the West. Britain, France, Germany and the United States are considering imposing additional sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt its nuclear enrichment work.

Why El-Baradei Threatened to Resign 23/06/2008 By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed Mohamed El-Baradei was chosen to serve as director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after winning 33 out of 34 votes in a secret ballot. Despite the fact that most of IAEA's conflicts are attributable to Middle Eastern countries, notably Iran and Pakistan, no one objected to the appointment of an Arab Muslim. As a former jurist and politician in the Egyptian Foreign ministry with extensive experience with the IAEA, we do not doubt his competence. However, his appointment was politically motivated as a means of reassuring parties...

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamad ElBaradei, will quit his position in the event of a military strike on Iran, according to a Reuters report Friday. The report quoted him as warning that any military offensive in Iran would turn the Middle East region "into a fireball."

DUBAI (AFP) - The UN atomic watchdog chief warned on Saturday that an attack on Iran over its controversial nuclear programme would turn the region into a fireball, as Tehran rejected any Israeli strike as "impossible." Mohamed ElBaradei also warned that he would not be able to continue in his role as International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general if the Islamic republic were attacked. His stark comments came as Iran stressed yet again that it will not negotiate with world powers over its nuclear programme if it is required to suspend its controversial uranium enrichment. "A military strike (against...

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamad ElBaradei, will quit his position in the event of a military strike on Iran, according to a Reuters report Friday. IAEA's Director General Mohamed ElBaradei gives a statement to the press. Photo: AP [file] Slideshow: Pictures of the week The report quoted him as warning that any military offensive in Iran would turn the Middle East region "into a fireball." "I don't believe that what I see in Iran today is a current, grave and urgent danger. If a military strike is carried out against Iran at this time ... it would...

BERLIN - Threats to attack nuclear plants on suspicion they would one day make bombs could undermine the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said. "Unilateral military action undermines the international treaty framework. We're standing at an historic turning point," Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told Der Spiegel magazine. A senior Israeli official said on Friday an attack on Iran looked "unavoidable" because U.N. sanctions seemed unable to prevent Tehran developing nuclear technology with bomb-making potential. ElBaradei said a growing threat to peace was coming from proliferation and an increasing readiness to consider...

Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei's most prominent personality trait is his chutzpah. Two weeks before Israel destroyed the North Korean-built nuclear reactor in Syria on September 6, ElBaradei, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, was complaining to Australian television about the US's decision to augment its military assistance to Israel by $30 billion over the next 10 years. The move, he said, would lead to a regional arms race. As far as ElBaradei is concerned, diplomacy means never having to say you're sorry and always attacking people who actually care what you think. And so it is not surprising that...

Iran has stymied the latest U.N. attempt to investigate allegations that it tried to make nuclear weapons, diplomats said Tuesday. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, will acknowledge it was unable to follow up on the allegations in a report to be presented as early as Friday to its 35-nation board, two diplomats told The Associated Press. IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei expressed optimism a month ago when he announced that Iran agreed to review intelligence collected by the U.N. agency, just a few weeks after Tehran had declared the books closed on any attempt to look into...

OSLO - The United Nations nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday that global nuclear security was faltering and called on leaders to refocus on nuclear issues and kick-start a new round of disarmament talks. "We need to bolster the non-proliferation regime and move on to nuclear disarmament," said Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). "We are at a crucial juncture. The system is faltering," ElBaradei told a conference in the Norwegian capital where he and the IAEA received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. He said the IAEA was aware of 150 cases per year of...

"On Friday, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed ElBaradei submitted a report on Iran's nuclear program to the IAEA's Board of Governors. It concluded that, barring "one major remaining issue relevant to the nature of Iran's nuclear programme"--including a mysterious "green salt project"--Iran's explanations of its suspicious nuclear activities "are consistent with [the IAEA's] findings [or at least] not inconsistent." The report represents Mr. ElBaradei's best effort to whitewash Tehran's record. Earlier this month, on Iranian television, he made clear his purpose, announcing that he expected "the issue would be solved this year." And if doing so required...

France and the US have dismissed a finding by the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog Mohammed ElBaradei that there is no evidence of Iran building a bomb. French Defence Minister Herve Morin challenged Iran to allow UN inspectors unlimited access to sites. The US said Iran's efforts to enrich uranium rather than import it more cheaply, indicated that it really wanted nuclear weapons. Mr ElBaradei said on Sunday that Tehran was years away from developing a bomb. Iran denies it is seeking to build nuclear weapons and says it wants only civilian nuclear energy. Its refusal to stop enriching...

UN nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei Sunday accused the Israelis of taking "the law into their own hands" with a mysterious raid on Syria last month and demanded more information about what was hit. Neither Israel nor the United States has furnished "any evidence at all" to prove that the Syrian site bombed in early September was a secret nuclear facility, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency told CNN. "That to me is very distressful because we have a system: if countries have information that the country is working on a nuclear-related program, they should come to us. We...

WASHINGTON: Mohamad ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, urged the Bush administration Sunday to soften its rhetoric against Iran while maintaining diplomatic pressure on it to halt the nuclear enrichment that could lead to the production of a nuclear weapon. But American lawmakers appearing on Sunday television talk shows were divided as to whether efforts to influence Iran had been helped or hindered by the administration's tough talk, exemplified by President George W. Bush's warning of "World War III" if Tehran obtained a nuclear weapon. "We cannot add fuel to the fire," ElBaradei said on CNN. "I...

Far from sabre-rattling, Tony Blair's speech about the threat of a nuclear-capable Iran was simply telling it like it is. In his first major speech since leaving Downing Street, Tony Blair this week likened Iran to the emerging threat of fascism in the 1920s and 1930s. The ideology of Islamist extremism "now has a state - Iran - that is prepared to back and finance terror in the pursuit of destabilising countries whose people wish to live in peace". David Cox identifies in this speech an encouragement of "war fervour". Mr Blair's analysis of international relations is, in truth, acute...

Rice Warns Nuke Watchdog Against Undoing Sanctions Threat on Iran September 19, 2007 Associated Press Fox News SHANNON, Ireland -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday warned the United Nations' chief nuclear inspector not to complicate the international ultimatum to Iran to shutter disputed atomic work, saying diplomacy is best left to diplomats. "It is not up to anybody to diminish or to begin to cut back on the obligations that the Iranians have been ordered to take" by the U.N. Security Council, Rice said. Although she did not mention U.N. nuclear watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei by name, Rice was...

Invoking the war in Iraq, the chief UN nuclear inspector criticized talk of attacking Iran as "hype" Monday, saying such options should only be considered as a last resort and only if authorized by the UN Security Council. "I would not talk about any use of force," said Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in an indirect response to French warnings that the world had to be prepared for the possibility of war in the event that Iran obtains atomic weapons. Saying only the UN Security Council could authorize the use of force, ElBaradei urged the...

U.S., Allies Accuse IAEA Chief Nuclear Inspector of Mishandling Iran File Sunday , September 09, 2007 AP VIENNA, Austria — Chief nuclear inspector Mohamed ElBaradei is coming under intense pressure for his handling of the Iran file, with the United States and key allies accusing him of overstepping his authority, diplomats said Sunday. The diplomats suggested that U.S. disenchantment with the International Atomic Energy Agency chief was at its highest since early 2005. That was when Washington actively considered pushing for his ouster because it considered him too soft on Iran and a drag on attempts to refer the Islamic...

Rogue Regulator September 05, 2007 The Washington Post Editorial Mohamed ElBaradei pursues a separate peace with Iran. FOR SOME time Mohamed ElBaradei, the Egyptian diplomat who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency, has made it clear he considers himself above his position as a U.N. civil servant. Rather than carry out the policy of the Security Council or the IAEA board, for which he nominally works, Mr. ElBaradei behaves as if he were independent of them, free to ignore their decisions and to use his agency to thwart their leading members -- above all the United States. Mr. ElBaradei was...

Tehran: Iran`s President claimed Sunday that his country is now running 3,000 centrifuges to enrich uranium for its controversial nuclear program — a long-sought Iranian goal. The claim contradicted a report by the UN nuclear watchdog on Thursday that put the number much lower — at close to 2,000. The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency said enrichment had slowed and Iran was cooperating with its nuclear probe, which could fend off calls for a third round of sanctions. "The West thought the Iranian nation would give in after just a resolution, but now we have taken another step...

Nuclear watchdog chief warns of 'last chance' for Iran International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei gives a press conference in July 2007. If Iran fails to resolve its nuclear dispute by the end of the year, it may be passing by its last chance to do so, the UN atomic energy agency head said in an interview due out Monday. BERLIN (AFP) — If Iran fails to resolve its nuclear dispute by the end of the year, it may be passing by its last chance to do so, the UN atomic energy agency head said in an interview due...

VIENNA, Austria - The head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog criticized U.S. moves to assist in the supply of weapons to its allies in the Middle East, saying the money would be better spent on regional development projects. In an interview with the Austrian newsweekly Profil, to be published Monday, Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, said a U.S. strategy to support a weapons buildup in countries such as Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt was not helpful for improving security in the Middle East. "Pouring more money into arms is not going to resolve the...

Excerpt - KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: U.N. inspectors have verified that North Korea has shut down four more nuclear facilities beyond its sole working reactor, the chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said Wednesday. "We have verified all the five nuclear facilities have been shut down," said Mohamed ElBaradei, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, ~ snip ~

Thursday, May 24, 2007 3:00 p.m. EDT John Bolton: ElBaradei an 'Apologist' for Iran John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, says Europe has to "get serious” about the threat of Iran’s nuclear push or face grave consequences if Iran develops nuclear weapons. Bolton, appearing Thursday as a guest on Fox News Channel, said U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran can only go so far toward slowing Iran's uranium enrichment process, but will not stop Iran from developing nuclear bombs. "Certainly, it’s worth putting more sanctions through the security council, although the ones in place now are weak...

Iran dismissed a scathing report by the UN nuclear watchdog on Wednesday and argued it had provided the agency's inspectors with adequate access to it's nuclear facilities, according to the state IRNA news agency. It was the first reaction in Tehran to the International Atomic Energy Agency report that sets the stage for a new round of punitive UN sanctions on Iran for its failure to halt the country's controversial nuclear enrichment program. The IAEA findings said Iran continues to defy UN security council demands to scrap the controversial enrichment and has instead expanded its activities. The report from Mohamed...

US protest at Iran remark by nuclear watchdog By David Blair, Diplomatic Correspondent Last Updated: 2:19am BST 24/05/2007 Britain and America are preparing to register a formal complaint about Mohammed ElBaradei, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, after he said that Iran should be allowed to continue enriching uranium in breach of three UN resolutions. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported yesterday that Iran was carrying out the highly sensitive process of uranium enrichment at its nuclear plant in Natanz. This could allow Teheran to produce weapons-grade uranium - the essential material for building a nuclear weapon....

Vienna, Austria - Inspectors for the International Atomic Energy Agency have concluded that Iran appears to have solved most of its technological problems and is beginning to enrich uranium on a far larger scale than before. The findings might change the calculus of diplomacy in Europe and the United States, which aimed to force a suspension of Iran's enrichment in large part to prevent it from learning how to produce weapons-grade material. In a short-notice inspection of Iran's main nuclear plant at Natanz on Sunday, conducted in advance of a report to the United Nations Security Council early next week,...

IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said that Iran is not considered as a nuclear threat to the world, IRNA reported. In an interview with Al-Arabia television network, he said the country poses no nuclear threats to any country around the globe.

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The chief U.N. nuclear inspector said Monday his agency cannot guarantee that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful despite four years of investigations and that doubts will persist until Tehran decides to cooperate with his experts. Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, spoke as board member nations of the IAEA gathered for a session on approving the suspension of dozens of technical aid programs to Iran as part of Security Council sanctions meant to punish Tehran for its nuclear defiance. Although the issue is not expected to come up until Tuesday at the earliest, the focus of the...

LONDON: Mohamed ElBaradei, chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, said Monday there is still time to negotiate with Iran about its nuclear program, noting that it would take years for Tehran to produce weapons. He also said international cooperation and more aid for poor countries are needed to build a secure world free of nuclear weapons. "Our system is based on a combination of inequality and insecurity," ElBaradei said in a speech at the London School of Economics. This week, Iran faces a U.N. Security Council deadline to halt uranium enrichment or face further economic sanctions. ElBaradei, general director...

The United Nations' nuclear watchdog fears Iran may be days away from ramping up its nuclear programme, a worry that has led to new efforts for a deal between Tehran and the west. While the push for a compromise has received support from Moscow, Paris and Berlin, the US and the UK are less enthusiastic. People close to Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, are worried that Iran may use the country's Revolution Day on February 11 to announce plans to install 3,000 centrifuges to enrich uranium. "The timing of Iran doing this on an industrial scale...

PARIS (AP) - The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said Thursday he was concerned that the U.N. sanctions on Iran could escalate the standoff with Western powers over its suspected weapons program. Mohamed ElBaradei called for a resumption of negotiations. Only applying pressure, he suggested, could prompt the Islamic republic to follow the path of North Korea, which kicked out U.N. inspectors, pulled out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 2003 and then conducted its first-ever nuclear test last October. "My priority is to keep Iran inside the system," said the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize winner, speaking in...

VIENNA - IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei is to report on whether the UN atomic agency should cut down on aid to Iran as part of UN sanctions on Tehran's nuclear program, according to a document obtained by AFP. The report could lead to an emergency meeting later this month or in early February of the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board of governors at IAEA headquarters in Vienna, diplomats said Friday. The board had in November shelved a project that would have given safety expertise for a heavy-water reactor Iran is building and which will produce plutonium, which like enriched...

BAGHDAD, July 21 (UPI) -- Iraqi security reportedly discovered three missiles carrying nuclear heads concealed in a concrete trench northwest of Baghdad, official sources said Wednesday. The official daily al-Sabah quoted the sources as saying the missiles were discovered in trenches near the city of Tikrit, the hometown of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "The three missiles were discovered by chance when the Iraqi security forces captured former Baath party official Khoder al-Douri who revealed during interrogation the location of the missiles saying they carried nuclear heads," the sources said. They pointed out that the missiles were actually discovered in...

Rep. Peter Hoekstra has sent a strongly worded message to the head of the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency, protesting a recent letter from the IAEA criticizing a Congressional report on Iran’s nuclear program. Hoekstra, a Michigan Republican who is the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, took issue with the IAEA letter that was sent to the U.S. Congress and to the media, and addressed his own letter to Mohammed ElBaradei, the IAEA’s director general. The letter from the IAEA came after Hoekstra’s committee issued a report in August on Iran’s nuclear efforts, which the IAEA...

BRITAIN tried to oust the man leading the international campaign to stop Iran developing a nuclear weapons programme while he was in the middle of negotiations with Tehran, Scotland on Sunday can reveal. Classified British government documents detail Tony Blair's attempts to stop Mohammed El Baradei getting a third term in charge of the UN's nuclear inspectorate, amid claims that he had lost the confidence of the United States.

He suggested that one hopeful sign is that Iran has not accelerated its nuclear efforts, which would be a signal it was developing nuclear weapons. "A few weeks won't make a difference," he said. "The issue is not Iran's nuclear program, but regional security."... "The bloodbath [in Lebanon] must be stopped quickly and a cease-fire must be brought about without delay," he told Der Spiegel. "But what's even more important is a comprehensive solution to the underlying problem. The Palestinian question is the elephant in the room. One cannot constantly treat only the symptoms."...

This is a BIG story. If you haven't read about this, you should. None of the tv news programs are covering this, including FOX. I was hoping Brit Hume would cover it this past Sunday, but I don't believe he mentioned it.  (correct me if I'm wrong) U.N. Nuclear Chief Pulled Inspector at Iran's Request BY ELI LAKE - Staff Reporter of the SunJuly 10, 2006URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/35728The Nobel Peace Prize-winning chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency effectively fired his lead Iran investigator this spring at the request of the Iranians, according to a new report in the German...